How Many Days In A Week?
by pandanarchy
Summary: High School AU where Mink meets the new transfer student, Sei. After being forced to be his tour guide, Mink quickly realises he's developed a crush on the new boy. However, in Mink's eyes, Sei is the cause of all his troubles and he wants to deny his feelings even exist. Rated T for course language only.
1. Monday

**A/N: This is my late birthday present for my friend! Happy Birthday! I'm sorry it's so late, and I'm sorry I had to rush the last couple of chapters. I hope you like it anyway!**

The sky was a clear, crisp shade of blue, without a single wisp of cloud floating in it. It was only mid-morning and the sun was already beating down harshly on the streets, heating up the roads and the pavements so it would be impossible to walk barefoot on. It looked like it was going to be a good day today, but Mink knew better than to fall for that old trick.

He'd tried to be optimistic, to look on the bright side, but as he forced himself to walk to school under the bright glare of the sun, he hung his head low, weighed down by the negative thoughts swirling around inside of him. It was the first day back to school. He hated school and the first day back was always the worst.

It didn't help that the weather was taunting him badly. It was the kind of day that would be perfect for a picnic on a grassy hill. Spread the red and white tartan blanket out on the ground under a tree. Enjoy a nice packed lunch of fresh bread and homemade jam and stone fruit. Once the afternoon breeze finally rolled in, there would be plenty of interesting clouds to lie down and gaze at dreamily. It was a pretty tempting idea.

But unfortunately he was stuck in this jail. Before he'd even reached the iron gates, the sound of the school bell pierced the air. Mink sighed, picking up his pace. If he hurried, he'd be able to make it to homeroom, and his usual teacher was pretty lenient. Being a few minutes late wouldn't result in a truancy notice. He stared at his own feet as he walked, contemplating more realistic plans for the day.

First he'd sit in homeroom and listen to the announcements. There wouldn't be anything that really interested him. It was pretty much the same thing every term. The drama club wanted to hold more bake sales for fundraising for shows, the cafeteria was looking for more parents to volunteer, the IT staff were advising people not to fall for scam emails, and the school was offering discounted driving lessons. Mink wouldn't be the only uninterested student in the room. In fact, the majority of the students would be slumped on their desks, trying to finish last minute homework or trying to get used to being awake this early in the morning again. Some girls would be sitting in the back corner, gossiping about what they did over the break, and some boys would be sitting in the front row, complaining about being stuck in the front row for another term. The teacher would be sitting in her chair, legs crossed, reading the announcements with a flat tone, having given up trying to increase student participation years ago. She wouldn't really care that no one was listening, as long as no one interrupted her.

After homeroom, Mink would go to first period, which if he remembered correctly was Biology. Last term they'd been studying plant biology, which Mink had passed effortlessly. This semester, they were supposed to be studying human anatomy for the third time in two years. It was getting old. The school needed to update their curriculum. But thanks to the fact that he'd studied it practically a million times before, Mink would be able to effortlessly pass human anatomy as well.

The bell would ring, and his Biology class would leave the room in a neat, quiet, single file. Kids who studied science subjects generally respected the "no running in the halls" rule. Mink would break free from the crowd and go to his second period class, which was Art History. His teacher would show them slides about some famous artist, as he always did, and they would take notes, as they always did. But Mink would only pretend to take notes. He didn't really care about some old lady who painted a demented cat 50 years ago. Instead, he would scribble various types of trees in his book, ranging from gnarled trees with bare branches to tall, swaying palm trees.

The bell would ring again for the start of lunch. Maybe then he would…

Mink's thoughts were interrupted when he walked into his homeroom. His feet had been moving automatically, and for a second he thought they had brought him to the wrong place. He had to double check the number outside the door, but no, he was in the right place after all. The problem was that his usual teacher, the woman named Mrs Cornwell, who always smiled in greeting and had her thin grey hair tied up in a messy bun, had been replaced by a short, balding man whose face was contorted in a mean scowl.

"You're late," the new teacher said accusingly, his tone pointed. He had beady little eyes that reminded Mink of those creepy paintings which supposedly stared at you as you walked around the room. But his face was too round and pudgy and it made his eyes seem out of place.

"Only by a few minutes," Mink protested, keeping his tone low. He didn't want to cause any trouble. He just wanted to get through the first day; that was all. He knew his height and his bulky figure were sometimes intimidating so he had to be careful with the way he acted around others, especially angry new teachers with a chip on their shoulder and the idea that they had something to prove.

The man's eyes narrowed. "Sit down," he barked, jerking his chin towards an empty desk in the third row. It wasn't Mink's usual set, but he figured he wasn't in any position to argue at that point. "This is your only warning," the new teacher explained. "If you're late again, you'll be getting a truancy notice, no excuses. Understood?" Mink nodded silently, praying the bell for first period would ring and he'd be saved. Not that Biology was much of a saviour.

"Now, for those of you who arrived late," the teacher said, purposefully glaring in Mink's direction, "My name is Mr Arnby. I'm replacing Mrs Cornwell as your new homeroom teacher. I may be a little bit stricter, but you'll have to learn to love me." Mink rolled his eyes. There wasn't much chance of that happening. "Anyway, before you head off to class, which I know you're all eager to get to, let me introduce our new transfer student."

Mink was surprised he hadn't noticed the boy standing in the front corner of the classroom until just now. First Mr Arnby and now this. Mink shook his head slightly. It was too much. His plans for the day were definitely disrupted. There was no way he would be able to comfortably sit through Biology and Art History now. Not with this beautiful boy's face haunting him.

"H-hi, I'm Sei," the boy spoke, his voice very quiet and very soft. Mink almost had to lean forwards just to hear him. His complexion was pale, contrasted by dark silky hair and deep dark eyes. He wore baggy clothes and a shy smile. "I just transferred inter-state. I chose this school because I really like home economics and hospitality, and I heard it has one of the best kitchens and best cooking programs in the area…" He trailed off, troubled by the class's lack of enthusiasm. "Um… Nice to meet you."

The bell rang and everybody rushed to get out of their seats, including Mink. He felt a little shaken by the effect that boy had had on him. He was almost enchanting. It was completely unexpected. Mink merged with the crowd and headed for the door, hoping to get outside and breathe in the fresh air momentarily before heading off to Biology, where he'd be stuck in another stuffy room filled with whiteboards and mismatched desks.

"Just a second!" Mr Arnby called out suddenly, catching onto Mink's shirt sleeve. He yanked him backward and stopped the tall boy mid-pace. "Mink, was it? Since you were late, you get the special responsibility of showing Sei to his classes."

"I've got my own classes to go to," Mink argued, his brow furrowing. _Oh no. This is bad. I don't want this._ How much more could Mr Arnby and this new kid Sei possibly ruin his day? All he wanted was to relax, but his stomach was restless, tightening in uneasy knots.

Mr Arnby scoffed and hastily tore a page from his notepad, scribbling on it in messy ballpoint pen. "Here, problem solved." He handed the scrap of paper over to Mink. It was a note explaining that Mink would be late to his classes all day because he was volunteering as a guide for a new student. "Off you go, then."

Mink struggled not to roll his eyes again. "Volunteering, my ass," he muttered under his breath as he turned away. He was almost certain Mr Arnby had heard him, but neither said anything. "Come on," Mink said to Sei roughly, gesturing to the door. "Show me your timetable."

Sei looked up and seemed a little startled. He was dwarfed next to Mink and it seemed to make him shrink back inside his shell. "Uh, s-sure," he stuttered, struggling to match Mink's pace. It wasn't as if Mink was walking particularly fast, but he was significantly taller than Sei, so his strides were much longer and more powerful. Sei had to practically jog to keep up with him. The pale boy dug deep into his pockets and produced an already crumpled piece of paper. "H-here you go."

Almost snatching it from his hands, Mink scowled at the paper. "Lucky for you," he mumbled. _But not lucky for me._ "You're in the same Biology class as me. That's what we've got first. Follow me."

"Really? You take Biology?" Sei questioned, his eyes brightening slightly. Mink quickly noticed that when the fragile boy was talking about things he was interested in or passionate about, his voice sounded much clearer and more confident. It was…kind of nice to see. But Mink didn't want to focus on that.

"Yeah, why? Is that surprising?" Mink asked, cocking an eyebrow. He'd heard it all before, and he already had a fairly good idea of what was coming next, so there was no holding his breath.

"I thought, I mean, at my old school…" Sei stumbled over his words as he tried to explain, trying to pick the best option that wouldn't offend Mink. "There were a lot of big…muscular guys like you, and they mostly picked the sports related subjects, you know?"

Mink shrugged. Pretty much what he'd expected. "Not really into sports," he replied shortly, ready to let the conversation die.

"So…what are you into then?" Sei asked, a small smile curving the edges of his lips. _Damn it, kid, just let the conversation die. The more I talk to you, the cuter you are and the more difficult it's going to be to concentrate on anything today._

Hesitating, Mink glanced at Sei out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to be caught looking. The boy was radiating a cheerful aura, and Mink could practically picture him being bathed in ethereal light. Why was he so cheerful at this time and in this setting? Early morning at school, there's nothing to be cheerful about.

"We're here," Mink announced, clearing his throat and completely side-stepping the topic. With perfect timing, they'd just arrived at the science block where all the science classrooms and labs were. "Biology room is all the way down the hall on the left," he told Sei, making vague hand gestures in that direction.

"You're not coming?" Sei asked, a little wide eyed. His pink lips formed a slight pout and a faint blush came out across his prominent cheekbones, very visible against his pallid complexion. Mink noticed he had beautiful long eyelashes…

"I've gotta go to the bathroom first," Mink explained quickly, mentally questioning why he even had to explain himself in the first place. He just had to get away for a moment, take a breather, and wrestle with his own thoughts. "I'll be back," he added, dashing off down the other end of the narrow hall.

Staring at himself in the dirty mirror, Mink gripped either side of the porcelain basin and grimaced. His tanned face and the dark strands of hair at his temples were dripping with water, but even splashing himself hadn't managed to break his train of thought. _What's with that kid? How is he so damn pretty?_

 _And why am I so bothered by it?_

That was the more important question. Mink had seen attractive people at the school before, looked them up and down, appreciated that they were attractive, and then never given them a second thought. He wasn't really interested in social relationships with people unless he had something to gain from it, and none of the people at this school could offer him anything he didn't already have.

Sei didn't really seem all that different, did he? Well sure, he was incredibly beautiful, the kind of beautiful that catches your eye from across the entire god damn ocean. But he seemed too shy and too frail and it didn't matter anyway because Mink hardly knew him. Mink shook his head violently, trying desperately to clear his mind and think logically.

 _It's probably just that he's so exotic. He's pale. He's slender. He's delicate and downright beautiful. That's the only reason I'm drawn to him. He's appealing to my eyes because he looks so different from everything I've seen here before. There's nothing more to it._

With one last sharp exhale, Mink forced himself to leave the bathroom and join the class. The queasiness in his stomach had mostly settled and he was thinking much clearer than before. He tried to shove all images of Sei out of his head, but he realised that would be difficult considering he'd probably be sitting across the room from him. If Mink remembered last term's seating plan correctly, he'd been sitting on the left towards the back, and there'd been three free seats on the right down the front. So that meant he'd probably have a decent enough vantage point to be able to look at Sei's face without Sei noticing he was looking…

 _Wait, why am I thinking about that? That's the opposite of what I wanted to be doing._ Mink mentally berated himself. Every time he tried to stop thinking about Sei, he just ended up thinking about Sei again, like some vicious circle. He needed to take control of it. He didn't like not being in complete control of his own mind. This kind of distraction wouldn't do.

"Mink, glad you could join us," the Biology teacher, Mr Henderson, greeted him, his tone a little snippy. Class had started about 10 minutes ago, so Mink supposed he had every right to be. "Do you have a good reason for being late?" he questioned, peering at Mink over the gold rims of his round glasses and waiting expectantly. Interrupting class to pick on late students had always been one of his favourite things to do, so he had a slightly smug expression.

"Yeah, here's my note," Mink responded, handing over the piece of paper Mr Arnby had scribbled on. He saw no reason why it wouldn't be accepted.

"Hmm," Mr Henderson said thoughtfully, tapping his foot under the desk. "That's really interesting, Mink," he commented, dragging his words out slowly. "Especially because the new student got here 10 minutes ago, when class was starting." Oh yeah, there was that. "I'll let this slide, since it's the first day back. But I don't want you being late again, ok? Take your seat."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mink turned to sit down, but stopped in his tracks. Sitting in his chair, leaning back on only two legs, was a brunette girl with heavy eyeliner. Damn her. Mink opened his mouth to ask her to move, but he was interrupted by Mr Henderson calling out, "Mink, seating arrangements have changed. Time to make new friends. You'll just have to sit somewhere else."

Glancing around the room, Mink's stomach dropped when he realised the only free seat left in the room was next to Sei, on the right down the front. Nothing was going as he'd expected today, and he swore it was going to give him a stress-induced heart attack. All he'd wanted was an uneventful first day back to school. He'd wanted an average start to an average term so he could just float through everything. But his plans had been disrupted.

He begrudgingly took his seat next to Sei, and pulled out his pens and notebook. Mr Henderson was giving a basic introduction to the human anatomy, starting off by explaining the various systems in the human body. Mink had heard it dozens of times before, and even almost had it memorised, so he didn't bother taking notes. Instead, he started to scribble aimlessly in the corner of his margin. While his hand was moving unconsciously, Mink found his eyes wandering to his left, where Sei sat, poised in his seat.

The black haired boy was diligently taking notes, which Mink supposed he should have expected. Sei's hand darted quickly across his page, somehow keeping up with how fast Mr Henderson was talking, as well as copying the brief notes from the whiteboard. His writing was neat, with a lot of curves and circles and loops. It looked very bubbly and cheerful and it seemed to suit him. _Damn it, how does even his handwriting manage to look cheerful? Weird._

Mink started to wonder what his own handwriting looked like, especially in comparison to Sei's. He looked down at his own page, intending on writing something, and realised that he'd been absent-mindedly sketching a pair of familiar eyes. Sei's eyes, in fact. They were dark and they peered out at Mink from the page, almost as deep and mysterious as the real thing.

Sei's real eyes, as it happened, were actually looking over at Mink at that exact moment. Mink slammed his notebook shut, praying that Sei hadn't seen what he'd drawn. Possibly pretending to be ignorant, Sei leaned over and whispered, "You're not taking notes?" Interesting that he seemed to be growing more and more comfortable talking to Mink.

"Don't need to," Mink mumbled back, leaning a little further away from Sei. He didn't like people being in his personal space without his permission, no matter how beautiful they were. But in that brief instant where Sei was close to him, Mink caught a whiff of the pale boy's scent. He smelled sweet, like a mixture of vanilla and honey. It was a little intoxicating and caught Mink off guard, but he managed to reign himself in. _Ok, he looks and smells good, so what?_

Class continued, with Mr Henderson dragging on and Sei playing the role of model student. Mink stared at his closed book, half listening to the lecture, but mostly tuning it out. He was trying his hardest to sway his mind off Sei.

What if he'd skipped school today? He could have gone home, raided the kitchen for food and packed up a really nice picnic lunch. He could have gone upstairs, rummaged around in the linen closet and found the old picnic blanket. He could have laid down on the hill under the tree and waited for the clouds to roll across the sky.

"Mink," suddenly a polite voice broke through his thoughts. "Can you tell me where my next class is?"

Brought back to reality once more, Mink blinked and turned to face Sei, who was still seated beside him. Everyone else in the class was already leaving, lined up at the door quietly, waiting to shuffle outside in a single file, just as usual. "Yeah, sure," Mink agreed, holding out his hand in wait for the crumpled timetable. "Hm. Art History," he read gruffly.

"What's wrong?" Sei asked, tilting his head. "Is that a bad class?"

"Well, I personally find it boring," Mink replied, chuckling to himself. _Fuck, is this kid going to be in all the same classes as me? I may as well skip school tomorrow. I need to cool down. Ah, wait, nevermind. He said he's taking home economics and hospitality, right? I don't do those. Thank god._

"You're in Art History too?" Sei asked excitedly, his smile lighting up his entire face. "Wow! I'm really glad to have met you on my first day! Can we go together?"

Glad to have met him..? Well that was something Mink didn't hear every day.

"Yeah, sure," Mink repeated. "Why not?" They got up from their desks and joined the tail end of the group exiting the classroom. Everyone was moving a little slow today, so the hall outside must have been pretty congested.

"You never told me what your interests are," Sei mentioned, bringing up the previous topic. He was standing patiently behind Mink, clutching at his shoulder bag with slender hands. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was trying to guess what Mink's secret hobbies were.

"Nature," Mink mumbled quietly, almost hoping Sei wouldn't hear. He didn't really have the energy to explain fully that he wasn't really interested in anything. He had basically no motivation to study anything at school, which was why he hated it so much. He had no motivation to have any great hobbies, which was why he hated this conversation subject so much. The only real things he cared about were nature, plants and animals. He had a garden at home and he went hiking often, and it was that simple.

Sometimes Mink felt it wasn't worth explaining because nobody could really understand how such a big guy could love nature so much. They saw him as scary, when he didn't always want to be seen as scary. He acted mean when he needed to, and didn't interact with people very well sometimes, but Mink knew he wasn't the kind of asshole that people thought he was. Sometimes other people just couldn't understand. Regardless, the number one reason he didn't like this subject, aside from it making him feel like an outcast, was that it made him face the fact that he had no real career options in the future, which lead to his intrinsic thoughts telling him he was letting people down.

 _Doesn't matter. Shut up,_ he told himself, shaking his head.

"Hey! Get the fuck off him!" someone yelled from outside. The line in front of them had barely budged an inch. Mink, taller than everyone else by a large margin, leant over to peer out the doorway and get a look at what was going on. Three boys were struggling in the middle of a circle, one of them trying desperately to separate the other two. A stray elbow hit him in the face, and he fell backwards with blood streaming from his nose, caught by the crowd, who all simultaneously started screaming. The crowded, narrow hallway was suddenly bustling with movement, people jostling each other and yelling, most egging the boys on.

Sei tugged at Mink's sleeve to get his attention. "What's going on?" he asked, a concerned frown set upon his face. "A fight?" Mink nodded in response. So much for science students being able to leave their classrooms in an orderly fashion. "Should we do something?" Sei prodded.

Shrugging, Mink replied, "Probably not. Just let them sort it out amongst themselves." He turned back to the scene just in time to see one of the boys land a solid punch to the other's jaw. The crowd's energy intensified in response. Surprisingly, Sei pushed past Mink and another student so he could see too.

He immediately turned back to Mink. "We have to do something," he declared. "We can't just let them get hurt like this." His arms folded across his chest sternly and he clenched his jaw, but Mink had to suppress his laughter. The dainty boy was trying his hardest to look tough and commanding, but it just didn't work with his fine facial features. If nothing else, it was a cute attempt.

"Why?" Mink questioned curiously. "It's their problem. Like I said, just let them sort it out."

"It's not right," Sei replied. "They shouldn't be fighting. They shouldn't be hurting each other, and these students shouldn't be encouraging it. I don't want anybody else to get hurt. If you're not going to do something, then I will."

Stunned, Mink just stared at him. Well, that took a lot of courage to say. But would Sei actually step in? Mink studied his face for a moment, and found nothing but determination. He concluded the crazy idiot would probably do it. He really meant it. Mink swallowed. He didn't really care about the kids who were fighting, but he couldn't exactly let Sei intervene. With how delicate the boy looked, he'd probably be snapped in half like a twig in seconds.

"Fine, I'll break it up," Mink snapped, storming past Sei. He barged his way through the crowd and emerged in the centre of the circle. "Cut this shit out!" he growled, grabbing one kid around the waist and hurling him in the opposite direction, easily separating the fighting pair.

The crowd stopped dead. The screaming stopped, the jumping and jostling stopped. The two boys in the middle of the circle stopped. The only sound was heavy panting and hard footsteps approaching on the linoleum floor. Everyone was too intimated by Mink's hulking body, his height and his muscles. Nobody wanted to make a move in case Mink turned on them too. He'd never intervened in a fight before, and everyone seemed to be wondering why he had now.

"What's going on here? Break this up, right now!" a sharp voice called out. Everyone turned around and saw Mrs Cornwell, clicking her way down the hallway in her black high heels. Now probably wasn't a time where she'd be lenient, unfortunately. "Who are the offenders? All four of you, to the principal's office."

 _All four of you? That includes me. Damn it, I don't deserve this!_ Sulking inwardly, Mink trudged off to the principal's office, the other three boys trailing behind him. The fourth boy, the one with the bloody nose, would probably need to stop by the nurse's office first. Today was straying further and further away from Mink's plan, and as he sat waiting on an uncomfortable wooden chair outside the office, it looked like he wouldn't even make it to Art History. _What a shame._

"So, tell me what happened," the principal demanded from his high back chair, interviewing each boy individually. Mink recounted exactly what had happened, how he'd been trying to leave class and a fight had broken out, so he'd tried to stop it. The principal knitted his fingers together thoughtfully. "While that does seem admirable, trying to intervene, you did engage in violence, and according to school policy, I'm going to have to punish you. Normally, I would suspend you, as we're doing with the other boys. But since you were trying to do the right thing, I'm going to let you off easy. Five days of lunch time detention."

When Mink was finally let free, it was too late to join his Art History class. He'd only be there for the last 10 minutes, so he didn't see the point in showing up at all. He briefly wondered whether Sei had managed to make it to the class ok without him, but pushed the thought aside. While he had 10 minutes of free time before his first lunch time detention, Mink decided to lay out on the oval grass.

There were no clouds. It wasn't late enough in the day for that yet. But Mink gazed up dreamily at the clear blue sky nonetheless. His arms were lying flat by his sides, and his chest was rising and falling slowly as he breathed in and out deeply. It was relaxing, even if it wouldn't last long. He closed his eyes and let himself breathe in the fresh air, filling and emptying his lungs over and over like a relaxation ritual.

Without realising it, Mink must have drifted off to sleep at some point. He was roused from his slumber by a gentle hand shaking his shoulder lightly and a soft voice telling him to wake up. Slowly opening his heavy eyes, Mink was only mildly surprised to see Sei crouching over him.

"Hi, Mink," Sei greeted him, beaming. "I figured I would find you here when you didn't show up to class. I had a bit of trouble getting to Art History. I, uh, asked a few people for help but they weren't very helpful, so I ended up getting lost and getting to class a bit late. Anyway, it's lunch time now. So…would you like to eat lunch with me?"

Sitting up with a soft groan and patting the grass from his clothes, Mink replied, "I can't. I've got lunch time detention all week for getting involved in that fight."

Sei frowned deeply. "That's not right. You didn't do anything wrong," he protested, his hands balling into fists. "I'm really sorry about this, Mink. It's my fault for asking you to stop them."

"Don't worry about it. I'm off," Mink responded, avoiding eye contact as he left. _Sei's right. It technically is his fault… Maybe he's some kind of siren? Beautiful but leads me into crappy situations. Who am I kidding? That's stupid. I guess I don't really blame him for this._

Mink headed towards the building where detention was held, and knocked on the wooden door of the wide room. There were dozens of rows of old desks and chairs, designed to accommodate at least 50 students at once. Mink had been there only once before, punished because he'd been late to class one too many times. He wasn't the kind of guy who liked to stick his neck out or draw attention to himself.

He silently took his seat, at the back by the window. He didn't mind having to sit in detention, as long as he could stare at the oval and the trees outside the entire time. Not even half the desks were filled today. It was the first day back, so maybe the teachers were just as tired as the students and didn't care. The room was dead silent except for the sound of one student tapping their pen against their desk. The wideness of the room meant that even such a small sound carried an irritating echo. The supervising teacher had her nose buried in a newspaper and didn't really seem bothered by it, however, Mink was.

Mink's eyes glided around the room, looking for the source of the sound. Three rows directly in front, there was the blonde girl tapping her pen on the edge of her desk, resting her chin in her palm with her elbow propping herself up. Very slowly so as to make as little noise as possible, Mink reached into his bag and pulled out his notebook. If the teacher's attention was caught, he'd just make it look like he was using the time to study. She couldn't argue with that. He opened the notebook to the middle, where the staples were, and removed a page without having to tear it. _Quiet, quiet now._ He scrunched the page into a tight ball and aimed it at the girl's head.

The small paper ball sailed through the air in a perfect arc and hit its mark. The girl jumped in surprise, her chair scratching the floor slightly. She whirled around, and made eye contact with Mink, who remained silent and simply glared at her, sending a warning message with his menacing expression. She looked a little frightened, and immediately faced forward again, thankfully ceasing her tapping. The teacher down the front didn't bat an eyelid, barely even noticing the exchange.

After an entire hour had passed, the school bell rang out, signalling the end of lunch, and freedom for those in detention. Mink was more than happy to leave that room, and he swiftly made his way down the hall and out of the building, headed towards his next class, which was French. He didn't particularly enjoy French, but like everything he was studying, he was luckily able to pass with minimal effort.

Mink knew home economics class ran at the same time as French, so there was absolutely no chance of him seeing Sei in this class. He breathed a sigh of relief as he took his seat. This class would be easy to sit through and it would give him a chance to finally relax. Only French and then Modern History, and then the day was over. Mink stared blankly at the blackboard, daydreaming about what he would do when he finally got out of school in the afternoon.

The clouds would finally have arrived. As he walked home, he would watch the sky move, watching the clouds slowly drift around without a care. He would unlock his front door, walk inside and pour himself a nice cold drink. He would relax in front of the fan for a little while, pushing all thoughts of homework from his mind. Then he would go for a long walk through the park, maybe even go to the nature reserve at the other side of town. He needed to unwind.

Mink hadn't really learned a single new thing so far today. He hadn't been paying much attention in any of his classes, and he'd even missed one of them altogether. He wasn't proud of it, but at the same time, he didn't really care enough to do anything about it. He didn't have the motivation to change anything, no interest to listen. He would still pass with average grades regardless of the amount of effort he put in, so it wasn't a big deal.

When it came time to trudge off to Modern History, Mink walked there as quickly as possible. Not because he was excited for the class, but instead he wanted the class to finish as quickly as possible so he could escape sooner. He took his seat and started doing what he usually did. Not paying attention, staring mindlessly out windows and at walls, scribbling in his notebook and pretending he was taking notes. Modern History was one of his least favourite classes. He didn't care to learn about all the death in the history of his country. He also didn't care much for the massive amount of homework and textbook readings they were usually given at the end of every lesson.

While the teacher droned on and on about some war, Mink thought again about what he would do after school. Maybe instead of walking to the nature reserve, he would walk to the beach. It was a hot enough day. Swimming in the ocean would be a nice way to cool down.

Finally, the home time bell rang. You would have expected Mink to have stood up faster than any of the other students in his class, but he took his time, conserving his energy. He followed the crowd out of the classroom and into the packed hallway. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder, making their way slowly to the school gates. Mink glanced out the window and grimaced.

 _This has to be some kind of joke._

The clouds had rolled in with the afternoon breeze. But instead of the fluffy, white clouds Mink had expected, they were dark grey and ominous, looming on the horizon and threatening to burst with rain. Mink sighed heavily at the drastic weather change. Nothing was going according to plan today, it seemed. Well, he'd just have to walk home, hope he didn't get caught in the rain, and sit inside the house all afternoon.

As he exited the school grounds, a voice called out to him. "Hey, wait up!" He was surprised. Nobody ever called out to him. He turned around and suddenly it made sense. It was Sei. "Hey, Mink!" the boy greeted, jogging to catch up to him. He was a little out of breath, and his cheeks were red. He hadn't even run very far. Mink looked amused.

"Following me home too?" he asked, smirking.

"Is that…an invitation?" Sei asked. It wasn't exactly clear if he was being serious, or teasing. There was something in his eyes that shined, but Mink couldn't identify what it was.

"No," Mink replied quickly. "It's not an invitation. I have my own plans." He had to quickly diffuse the situation, not wanting to give Sei the wrong impression.

"Oh…ok," Sei said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well, I have to catch a bus, so I'll see you tomorrow in homeroom!"

"Yeah, sure," Mink said, waving a hand in dismissal. _That's if I even feel like coming to school tomorrow._

Sei darted off, weaving through the crowd to get to the pickup point for his bus. Mink had no idea where he was going, but found himself watching Sei go, his eyes lingering on the back of the boy's head. He was too friendly. It was a little unnerving, especially for Mink who had never really had anyone act friendly towards him before. He supposed it was a nice change, but he wasn't really sure how to react to it. Sei, a beautiful, friendly new student, seemed to want to be friends with him? It was a strange concept.

That was a problem for tomorrow. Now, Mink had the entire afternoon to himself to do (almost) anything he wanted, with the weather permitting. He started walking home, keeping an eye on the depressing clouds which were growing closer and closer by the minute. The air around him had taken on a vague chill and he could smell the oncoming rain. Going home, his pace was much faster than it had been when he was walking to school. He was very wary about being caught in the downpour.

It started to drizzle when Mink was about halfway home. Small raindrops spattered against his cheeks, the skin of his arms and the fabric at his shoulders. They were like tiny, icy bullets that didn't do a whole lot to improve his mood. He couldn't rush home much faster unless he actually broke out into a run. He picked up his pace enough that he began to jog lightly, feeling his backpack batter against his back in time with every step. He made it under the cover of the awning of his front door just in time to witness the rain grow heavier. Puddles began to form on the concrete of his driveway and he leant against the front door for a moment, catching his breath. His hair was sticking together in clumps, tangled by the rain.

Unlocking the front door, Mink entered the house and flicked all the light switches on. The fluorescent light in the kitchen had been flickering for days but no one had been bothered to do anything about it. Under the constant blinking, Mink rummaged about in the fridge and cupboards, looking for a refreshing drink and a light snack. He briefly wondered whether Sei got caught in the rain on his way home too, but just like with his homework, he forced himself to push those thoughts from his mind.

The rain was growing heavier still, and Mink turned on the TV to watch the news and cranked the volume up so it was audible over the sounds of the rain on the roof. Plunking his butt down on the low sofa and setting his glass of lemonade down on a coaster on the wooden coffee table, he idly watched the reports about a few minor robberies in the town over, a new online scam to be wary of, and some big charity event being held next month. According to the final weather report, the rain looked like it was going to settle in for the next few days, so it was ill timing for a picnic. Mink cursed his luck. He should have just skipped school this morning and enjoyed a picnic while the weather was still good. Maybe he could have even avoided detention too.

But then he wouldn't have met Sei…

 _Damn it, why can't I keep him out of my head for long?_ Grumbling, Mink stabbed a finger at the TV remote, turning it off and dropping the remote back down on the sofa pillows. He drained the last of the lemonade in his glass and slammed the glass back down on the coaster in frustration. He had no idea what to do to lift his own spirits. No idea how to improve the rest of his evening.

He wandered upstairs to his bedroom and plucked a book from the bookcase. It was a book about herb gardens that he'd bought last month but hadn't had the chance to read yet. While standing, he flicked through the first few pages, but he just didn't feel that into it. He placed the book back in its designated spot on the shelf, and wandered back downstairs. _While I think of it, I may as well check on my own garden, I suppose._

Heaving the stubborn latch on the back door, Mink strolled outside to check in on his garden. Some of his plants were in pots under the shelter of the veranda, but others were planted in garden boxes. The ones in pots were doing just fine; a couple of the rose bushes even had small buds on them. They weren't being rained on at all, so they weren't at any risk of drowning. And the ones in the garden boxes were hardy and weren't bothered by the rain. Mink walked over to the metal shelving bracketed to the wall and picked up his metal watering can, taking it over to the rain and filling it halfway. He broke open a small sachet of sugar-based plant hormones and dissolved it in the water. He usually didn't like using chemicals but one of his trees didn't seem to be growing fast enough, so he watered it a little around the base.

Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand and brushing his hair out of his eyes, Mink emptied the remains of the watering can into the grate-covered drain by the gutter pipe. The humidity outside was making his hair disobedient. He replaced the now empty watering can back on the shelf and stared at the garden for another long moment. There was nothing else to do out here. He was just looking for a way to waste more time.

Walking back inside, Mink checked the time on the microwave. It was close enough to dinner time, so he figured he may as well start working on something. He pulled out various vegetables from the fridge including onions, potatoes, carrots, leek, and squash amongst other things. It had been a few days since he'd had a nice vegetable soup, and the thought of it made his stomach rumble already. Opening the kitchen cupboard, he located the vegetable stock and the cans of lentils and chick peas. He put a pot on the stove and began chopping and cleaning everything in preparation, taking his time to cut everything into exactly even sized cubes. It wasn't necessary, but it was time consuming and that was what he wanted. He heard the front door open at some point, but he gave it no mind. If his parents wanted to steal some of his vegetable soup, they'd have to wait until later.

Time passed really slowly while Mink waited for his soup to cook. For a while, he stood in the centre of the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest, staring intently at the soup pot and watching the bubbling mixture as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. But he didn't want the stand there for an hour, or however long it would take to soften everything. He decided to go back to the living room and watch something mindless on the TV.

When he sat down on the couch again, someone had left the TV on. It was on the music video channel, but the sound was muted. Everything looked really bizarre without the sound. Mink waited a few moments to see whether or not the person who had been watching (either his mother or father, he wasn't entirely sure) would return, but no one came back so he unmated the sound, quickly turned it down so it wouldn't blow the speakers, and changed the channel, just surfing until he found something else interesting. He ended up leaving it on the documentary channel, which was showing something about coral bleaching.

Eventually, dinner finished cooking. Mink served himself a bowl, and ate it slowly while watching another documentary about leopards. Now would probably be a good time to do his homework, but Mink usually didn't do his homework, so he didn't care either way. Once he finished his soup, he washed the dishes, packed the leftovers away into the fridge, and headed upstairs for a quick shower to wash off the day's grime.

Tilting his head so the warm water flowed over his whole body, Mink sighed. Today had been a really long, really boring day. He wasn't exactly tired, but he was planning on going to bed after this. The warm water encased him and relaxed his muscles, dripping in tendrils down his muscular body. He massaged shampoo into his long hair, taking care not to miss any spots so his whole head would be thoroughly clean. Once he rinsed it out, he turned the taps off and the flow of water ceased. He stepped out of the shower, surrounded by a cloud of billowing steam, and patted himself dry with a fluffy purple towel while standing in front of the foggy mirror. He stared hard at his own body and face.

Maybe the other kids were right. He was pretty scary, he supposed. Too tall, too broad shouldered, too muscular. His features were too harshly angled, his jaw line was too hard and his cheek bones were too prominent. Nothing about his appearance was soft or subtle. Nothing about his appearance gave off a friendly impression.

Drying off the last of the water from his hair, Mink dumped his towel in the laundry basket and sighed again, probably for the hundredth time that day. It wasn't worth glaring at himself in the mirror. In the end, it didn't really matter what people thought of him, as long as he knew what they thought was wrong. Mink exited the bathroom, flicked all the lights off, and shut his bedroom door behind him. He was going to try reading that herb garden book one more time before having an early night.


	2. Tuesday

Today the sky was a blanket of sheer grey, with no definition between any of the clouds. Everything was overcast, and it was only mid-morning but there was a chill in the air, brought on by the unhappy weather. It looked like it was going to be a miserable day today, probably with more rain later in the afternoon. Mink didn't expect too much from it.

Mink supposed the one good thing about the weather was that he didn't break out in a sweat while he was walking to school. He hung his head slightly as he walked, not wanting to get too optimistic about things. He still had negative feelings about going to school. The second day back probably wouldn't be much better than the first.

He mentally ran over his plan for the day. He'd sit in homeroom and hopefully wouldn't be pestered by the new teacher Mr Arnby. He'd left home a few minutes earlier today to account for being a few minutes late yesterday, so he expected to arrive exactly on time. Which meant Mr Arnby would have no reason to complain. He'd probably also be forced to interact with Sei during homeroom.

But after that, the bell would ring and he'd trundle off to his first period class, which was Art History. He'd probably be scolded briefly for missing yesterday's class, but then the usual pretending to take notes would ensue. Second period would be English, where they would go over the lesson plans for this term, and briefly look at the assignment outlines, but not do much actual work. So it would be fairly easy to sit through. Then it would be time for lunch time detention, Mink's favourite part of the day. After that, French again, and then Maths, and then freedom.

Mink walked along the corridor and strolled into homeroom, casually taking his place in the seat Mr Arnby had incidentally assigned to him yesterday. The bell began to ring just as Mink's butt touched the seat and he mentally pumped his fist in the air. One small victory for the day. However, regardless of the fact that Mink was actually on time, Mr Arnby still glared at him as he shuffled the announcement papers on his desk. Mink looked around the room, noticing Sei seemed to be missing. He'd probably gotten lost on his way there, but Mink doubted he'd be punished for it since he was still new.

Interrupting Mr Arnby's reading of the announcements (nothing new since yesterday), Sei entered the room panting slightly. "I'm sorry I'm late," he apologised, taking a seat in the same row as Mink, just one seat over. "I thought I remembered the way here, but I took a wrong turn…" he started explaining. Just as Mink had thought.

Mr Arnby cut Sei off with a sharp hand gesture. "That's enough. Fair enough that you were late today. You're only new," Mr Arnby allowed, nodding his head wisely. He probably thought he was the greatest teacher on earth. It really showed on his smug little face. "However, Sei, like everyone else, you get one warning. If you're late again, you'll be punished accordingly."

"Yes, sir, I understand," Sei replied, a slight red colour rising to his cheeks. Mr Arnby returned to reading the notices and Sei looked over to Mink, smiling in greeting. "How was your afternoon yesterday, Mink? Did you manage to do those plans you said you had?" he asked in a quiet voice, leaning slightly closer to hear Mink's reply. But he must have remembered Mink's reaction yesterday, because he was careful not to lean in too far. He was careful to be wary of Mink's personal space.

"It was…" Mink paused for a second, thinking back to what he did the previous day. Absolutely nothing. "Average," he lied, playing things down. "I didn't do much at all." If this had been a normal conversation, this would have been the point where Mink would have asked Sei how his afternoon was in return. But Mink was willing to just let the conversation die again. It was too early for this much thought, this much social interaction.

"Mine was interesting," Sei said in response to the question Mink had refused to ask. Mink rolled his eyes. _Why doesn't this kid know how to let a conversation die?_ "I got a bit lost walking home from the bus stop, and it was raining, so that was a little annoying. But I ended up making it home fine. I did all the homework I had to do, and then I revised the notes I took in Biology and Art History…"

"Wonderful," Mink grunted, staring at the clock on the wall and waiting for the first period bell to ring. He eyed the second hand on the clock, watching it tick as if watching it keenly enough would somehow make time pass faster.

"What about this afternoon?" Sei questioned. "Do you have any plans this afternoon?"

"Not really," Mink replied. "The weather's not good enough for any real plans."

The bell rang. Everyone who had things on their desks started frantically cramming them into their school bags. Most of them had been trying to rush last minute homework that was probably due in first period. Too late for that now. The bell was their doom. But for Mink, the bell was a saving grace.

"We have Art History together now, right?" Sei said cheerfully, swinging his bag onto his shoulder.

 _Damn it. I forgot about that._ "Yep," Mink grunted in reply, picking up his own bag. They exited the room and headed to the Art History room together. While Mink had been hoping to take a break from Sei's overly cheerful prattling, unfortunately being in the same class together meant the prattling followed him.

As they walked along the outdoor bridge between buildings, there was a well timed part in the clouds. Golden rays of sunlight filtered through, gentling caressing everything in their path. Mink noticed the sunlight hit Sei's face, causing his hair to shine brilliantly and his skin to glow. The lighting and his smile were both so radiant that Mink's heart skipped a beat. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, and then the clouds sealed up again and the moment passed.

"What's wrong, Mink?" Sei asked, a slight furrow appearing between his brows. "You looked a little spaced out for a second there. Are you feeling alright?" Sei's concern for him didn't really help Mink to clear his thoughts any faster. He had a brief desire to imitate the sun and softly caress Sei's cheek with the back of his fingers, but he restrained himself.

Clearing his throat, Mink replied, "I'm fine. Eyes straight ahead. You'll walk into somebody like that." He wasn't just saying that to Sei, but to himself as well. He needed to focus and keep his eyes and thoughts off Sei as much as possible. He couldn't start letting weird thoughts like that overcome him.

Art History class went by in a blur. Mink barely paid attention to the slides they were shown, and barely remembered to pretend to take notes every now and then. Sei was sitting directly in front of him, and he ended up spending most of the class staring directly at the back of the boy's head, wondering what it would feel like to run his fingers through that soft raven hair.

The beginning of second period was signalled by the bell ringing again. Not surprisingly, Sei was in a higher level English class than Mink, but their classrooms were right next to each other in the same building block, so they walked in that direction together with Sei keeping up the joyful, mostly one-sided conversation. Mink never really looked at the faces of the students he passed in the halls. Everyone just sort of melted together and looked the same. But while he was walking with Sei, he wondered what they looked like to other people. Probably an unlikely pair.

English class was exactly as Mink had expected, which was a gigantic relief. Everything had been going wrong, straying from Mink's routines and plans, so it was a very nice feeling to experience something predictable and easy. The assignments all looked like they would be simple enough, and Mink decided he could probably do them all the night before they were due and he'd still pass, so that lightened his mood a little bit. He didn't want to have to put too much effort into these assignments since essay writing and play reviews weren't things he really enjoyed.

After English was finished, before he had a chance to bump into Sei in the hallway, Mink hurried off to the building where he had detention. He took the same seat as yesterday, by the window so he could watch the weather. Outside the sky was still a mass of swirling, depressing greys. The girl who had been tapping her pen the day before was now absent, replaced by three other students, one of whom had an irritating sniffle. But unfortunately it wasn't as if Mink could throw a ball of paper at his head and glare at him until his flu went away.

Once again, Mink waited half-slumped on his desk while the hour long detention slowly dissolved. Finally, when he was released, he headed off to French class. While the teacher went over the new vocabulary for that textbook chapter, Mink thought about whether or not Sei would be in his Maths class next period. Most likely not. Just like with English, Sei probably would have been placed in the higher level Maths class than Mink.

 _Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Having so many classes in a row without Sei..._ Mink pondered the question for a little while. It was relaxing without Sei. His stomach felt less tight and knotted and his entire body felt less tense. When he was around Sei, he felt a little on edge at all times, which was new to him. Nervous when there was no need to be nervous, and captivated when there was nothing to be captivated by. He didn't quite understand it. Being away from Sei meant being away from those feelings, which allowed calmness to wash over him and allowed him to be absorbed by his daydreams without much interruption. However, on the other hand, being away from Sei somehow made Mink think about him more. Well, maybe not more, but equally. It made him wonder about what Sei was doing more, at the very least. Whether he was with or without Sei, the pale boy still managed to worm his way into Mink's thoughts.

"Mink, could you read this line of dialogue?"

"He's just so beautiful," Mink mumbled.

A storm of giggles echoed around the classroom and Mink suddenly snapped to his senses. The French teacher had asked him a question and he realised he'd replied by accidentally voicing his thoughts. He grimaced, feeling his ears flush red but not being able to stop it from happening. The teacher shook her head and decided to leave well enough alone, moving on and asking a different student to read the dialogue. Mink wished he could sink through his chair and melt into a puddle on the ground. He'd never had anything that embarrassing happen to him before, not even when he'd been younger.

When the bell rang and it was time to go to Maths, Mink was determined to pay just enough attention to not be caught off guard like that again. He didn't want to waste effort learning about boring Maths formula, but if he happened to be called on he didn't want to blurt something embarrassing out again. Never again, he vowed.

As predicted, Sei was nowhere to be seen in his Maths class. That kid was too smart for him, truly a model student. He paid attention, did his homework, took notes, even revised them. And what did Mink do? He tried his hardest to avoid doing any of that. The exact opposite.

In fact, Mink supposed they were opposites in a lot of ways. While he was overwhelmingly tall, Sei was short, falling just under average height. He was very muscular, bulky and brawny, but Sei was slim and delicate. Mink had dark skin and angled features, and Sei was pale and soft. The more Mink thought about it, the more he realised they probably didn't have a single thing in common. Sei was studying things he enjoyed, but Mink only happened to be studying some of the same subjects because he was left with no better options. Mink shook his head slowly. Even if Sei did happen to like him back, it was never going to…

 _Wait, what?_

Mink suddenly sat bolt upright, alarmed by his own thoughts. _"Like me back"? What's that supposed to mean? I'd have to like him in the first place for him to "like me back" and I don't…_

"Oh my god," Mink whispered under his breath.

 _I have a fucking crush on Sei._

 _How did this happen?_

 _How?_

 _Why?_

 _What does this mean?_

 _How? What?_

 _Shit._

Mink slumped over onto his desk, defeated. There wasn't really any way around it. He definitely had a crush on the new student Sei. That would definitely explain his nervous feelings and upset stomach. But when he thought about it just a little bit more, he guessed it made sense. In just the short amount of time Mink had been around him, Sei had shown him more friendliness, kindness and concern for his wellbeing than probably any other human ever had. Sei showed a genuine interest in what Mink liked doing, and he genuinely seemed to enjoy talking to Mink. He wasn't afraid and judgemental like everyone else.

Maths class ended sooner than expected, and Mink hastily made his way down to the front gate. In the back of his mind he was hoping to beat the rain home again today, but mostly he was just hoping to get home and sort out his feelings before he ran into Sei again.

"Mink, wait up!" a familiar voice called out from behind him. Mink's heart sank in his chest, but he turned around and was wholly surprised. Instead of Sei's smiling pale face, he was greeted by a scowling tanned face.

"Mizuki?" Mink asked, frowning in confusion. The burgundy headed boy was in the grade below Mink and they'd only ever spoken maybe once before, a long time ago. Mizuki was on the school's soccer team and invited Mink to a party he'd hosted once, but Mink had never showed up and Mizuki had been really offended.

Mizuki stalked over, the scowl on his face deepening. "Look man, I saw him first," he said heatedly, leaving a threateningly small amount of distance between himself and Mink. Mizuki was in pretty good shape. He worked out a lot to stay fit for the soccer team. He was tall and lean, but he wasn't nearly as tall as Mink. It was foolish of him to think he could use scare tactics against Mink.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mink growled, stepping slightly closer still. His own face formed an intimidating glare and he looked down at Mizuki disdainfully. "You'd better back the fuck away from me before I make you regret coming over here, understand?" He just wanted to go home. He didn't want to have to deal with this bullshit.

Mizuki didn't budge. "I'm telling you, I saw him first," he repeated stonily. "So you're the one who'd better back the fuck off. Do you understand?" His jaw was set and he looked determined. Mink turned up the heat a little, trying to make his facial features look even more frightening. It had some effect. Mink was willing to bet Mizuki was more scared than he looked. It was actually impressive how well the shorter boy was keeping it together under the pressure of Mink's furious gaze.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mink said slowly. "Saw who first? What are you talking about? You're an idiot." Some of the other students making their way home had noticed the heated exchange and were whispering to each other, some in excitement and some in fear. Several students stopped walking altogether, hoping to get a glimpse if a fight broke out.

"I'm talking about Sei!" Mizuki snapped, his voice like a vicious snarl. "I saw you walking with him in the corridor today, you freak! You know he's too good for you, right? I'm telling you to step the hell back, man! I saw him first! You don't get to intrude on that!"

The word 'freak' stung Mink's pride a little bit. He shoved Mizuki's chest with open palms, forcing the boy to take an uneasy step backwards. Mizuki was just another one of those typical assholes who think they deserved the world on a silver platter. He was an entitled little prick trying to boss everyone around and piss all over everything.

"I don't give a shit about you!" Mink yelled in Mizuki's face. "I don't give a shit about what you want me to do! And it doesn't matter either way because I don't give a shit about Sei!"

The whole crowd of students around then suddenly went silent with Mink's angry explosion. Mink stood there panting for breath for a moment, and Mizuki looked genuinely afraid, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. Mink's hot breath crashed down on his cheeks but he was too paralysed with fear to take another step back. Mink turned abruptly, tearing himself away and heaving a sigh, trying to calm himself. He started to leave, to walk home like he'd originally planned, but he heard a voice from behind him.

"Mink?" the small voice questioned.

 _Oh no. It was Sei. How much had he heard?_

Mink didn't want to turn back around. He didn't want to face what he'd done. He didn't want to see Sei's broken expression. It would haunt him, knowing he had broken that fragile boy's smile. Knowing he had breached the dam and made Sei cry. But he couldn't just walk away either. He forced himself to look coldly over his shoulder. Sei was standing a few paces back, holding a clear plastic container to his chest. His face seemed blank, almost emotionless like a carefully constructed mask. Which was much worse than if he'd been crying.

"You're mean, but you're not that mean," he said to Mink in a completely flat tone. "I made these in my cooking class, and I thought you'd like to have them." He extended his arms out, almost robotic-like in his movements, and offered the container to Mink. It was filled with sugar cookies.

Twisting his body to accept the gift, Mink felt his jaw drop slightly. How was Sei acting this composed? Why wasn't he crying? He was clearly very upset, but he was doing an impressive job of containing it. _Unlike me…_

"I'll see you in homeroom tomorrow," Sei said, his voice cracking slightly. He nodded once and walked away quickly, dissolving into the crowd, most likely headed towards his bus. Mink wanted to stare after him, or to call out and ask if he was really ok, but he also wanted to get away from Mizuki, who was still standing there looking dumbfounded. He wanted to get away before Mizuki or anyone else in the crowd recovered from the shock of that ordeal.

Walking in a fast pace, Mink finally headed home. The container of cookies felt unusually heavy in his hands. _I don't deserve these. I'm a terrible person._ He resisted the urge to throw them in the trash as soon as he got home…but that would be a waste. Sei had made these for him. He couldn't waste them like that. He dejectedly sat his butt down on the couch, sinking into the cushions. He opened the container with one hand, and raised one of the cookies to his mouth. They looked and smelled so good. He bit a chunk out of the side, and closed his eyes.

He couldn't taste anything. Logically, he knew they tasted good. If Sei had made them, they must have tasted good. But his negative mood was so suffocating that he couldn't really taste anything at all. It was a damn shame. He'd thought maybe eating one of the cookies would be the thing to lift his spirits.

Instead, Mink sighed and wandered into the kitchen. He wanted to put the cookies somewhere safe so he could save them for another time, when he was feeling better and could properly appreciate them. He hid them in the back corner of one of the pantry cupboards. _What do I do now? Why do I feel so…empty?_ He stared at the tiled kitchen floor for a long while, just pondering today's events. _I really hurt Sei. I shouldn't have said any of that. I just…Why did I say it?_

 _I didn't think he'd hear me._

 _I wanted Mizuki to get off my back._

 _I'm in denial about my crush._

Mink slapped his cheeks with the palms of his hands, trying to snap himself out of it. Everything would probably be back to normal tomorrow. Sei seemed like a pretty resilient, cheerful kind of guy. They'd both sit near each other in homeroom in the morning, and it would be like nothing ever happened. Sei had said it himself this afternoon, he knew Mink wasn't that mean. There was nothing to worry about.

But still, Mink's worries were eating at him. Seeing Sei acting like that, trying his hardest to suppress his emotions and act calm and collected, it had really gotten under Mink's skin. _That's not how that boy is supposed to be. That's not right. He should be smiling and laughing. He shouldn't have to choke down his tears and put on a brave face. Ugh! What have I done? What can I do to fix it?_

Mink shook his head again, trying desperately to derail that train of thought. He'd already established there was no point in worrying. Nothing good would come from it. Worrying wasn't any kind of solution for this. The only thing he could really do now was reheat some vegetable soup for dinner, and wait to see how things were tomorrow. They'd probably be fine.


	3. Wednesday

"How… How was your evening?" Mink asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand awkwardly. He had shown up to homeroom a little bit early, and arrived at the exact same time as Sei. He wasn't really that surprised that Sei had showed up early. But he was surprised when Sei took his seat without speaking a word to him. So he'd decided to try and initiate conversation.

"It was ok," Sei replied, his tone dull. He was unpacking a Maths textbook from his bag to read while Mr Arnby went through the announcements. Mink waited for him to ask how his evening was in return, but the question never came. Was Sei…actually trying to let the conversation die for once? _Man, I must have messed up even worse than I thought._

"So, uh… What classes do you have today?" Mink questioned, trying his hardest to keep the conversation going, even though he wasn't as good at talking as Sei was. He'd already looked at his timetable this morning, so he already knew the answer, but it was worth a shot. It was something to talk about.

"Same as you," Sei answered, idly flicking through the pages of his textbook. His eyes seemed glossy as he gazed down at the pages, and he didn't look up to make eye contact with Mink even once. He just seemed…really off, really out of it. Not his usual cheerful self at all. He really didn't seem like he wanted to participate in the conversation.

Mink was beginning to sweat. Was this what people felt like all the time when they tried to make conversation with him? He almost felt bad for anyone who had ever tried to talk to him. "Oh, yeah. I tried one of your cookies when I got home," he recounted, hoping to get a reaction from Sei. "They were really good. I'm amazed you can bake so well."

"Glad you liked them," Sei mumbled, snapping his textbook shut suddenly. Was he mad? It was hard for Mink to tell. He seemed kind of mad, but then again, it could have been almost anything. The boy's face was still blank, but with a tiny crease between his eyebrows. That crease was what gave it away. Sei was exerting effort trying to keep up the stony expression. But what emotions was he hiding underneath?

The bell for first period rang out and Sei stood before Mink had a chance to say anything else. They both had English, so they'd be walking in the same direction, but Sei didn't bother waiting for Mink this time. Mink frowned, again wondering how he could fix this. It really wasn't right.

Without much effort, thanks to his long legs, Mink caught up to Sei with ease. "Hey, you have English, right?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm going the same way. And I wanted to talk to you." He added the last part a little awkwardly. He felt uncomfortable. He'd never been very good at this kind of thing.

"About what?" Sei responded, adjusting his bag strap on his shoulder and still purposefully not meeting Mink's gaze. He was staring straight ahead and walking with stiff strides.

"You said I'm not mean, right?" Mink asked. He wasn't sure where he was hoping to go with this. But that was the only straw he'd managed to clutch. He wanted to remind Sei of what he'd said yesterday, so hopefully the situation could be resolved somehow. But it seemed like it would take something just short of a miracle.

"I don't know…" Sei answered thoughtfully, trailing off. He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "At least, I didn't think you were."

"But now you do?" Mink's words rushed out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Just that one sentence from Sei and Mink's heart rate was through the roof and his whole body felt tense. The truth was out there and there was no taking it back. "Now you do think I'm mean? Because of what happened yesterday?" Mink pressed the issue, his throat tight around his words.

"I don't know what to think, Mink," Sei confessed, shaking his head slowly. "I thought you were a nice person, but you said some pretty mean things." He looked up at Mink for a brief moment, and his guarded expression wavered. Mink caught a glimpse of sadness in his eyes.

"Yeah, but…" Mink was cut off suddenly when they arrived at the English classrooms. Not only did they have to get to class to avoid being written down as late, but Mink was also wary about other students overhearing their conversation. "We'll continue this later, ok?"

Sei entered his classroom without a reply, and without sparing Mink another glance. Mink took his seat in his classroom and propped his elbow on the desk. At least he'd learned something, he supposed. What he'd said yesterday had upset Sei so much that Sei was questioning whether or not Mink was really a good person. It probably didn't help that they'd been interrupted and had to split up before Mink had even had the chance to properly apologise and explain himself. But could he even really explain that? It was pretty mean to say you didn't care about someone at all, especially in front of all those people.

Just based on that quick interaction, Mink's mind was running wild. While the teacher stood out the front and went through a character analysis, Mink tried to figure out what exactly was going on in Sei's head. _Clearly, I've hurt his feelings. He thinks I don't care about him, and we were supposed to be… What are we? Friends? I don't know how he sees me. But he's mad and upset, probably embarrassed and betrayed. How, how, how do I fix this?_

With his thoughts whirling around in circles, Mink was getting nowhere. He settled on a loose decision that he needed to apologise before anything else. He needed to tell Sei that what he said wasn't true, he needed to admit that he actually did care about Sei. Hopefully that would fix things. It was just a matter of finding the time and place to talk to Sei without interruption, on top of finding the words to express all that without sounding like even more of an idiot.

 _Wait a second… Why do I even care so much? I just met this kid. It's not like we're really close friends. I've hurt people's feelings in the past and not given a shit. Why should I care so much about Sei? If I upset him and he doesn't want to be friends anymore, isn't that better for me? Just one less thorn in my side._

 _No, that's not right either. I care about him because of this stupid crush I have on him. I don't want see him upset like this, especially not because of me. No matter what, I have to fix this._

"Mink, you look a little ill." Suddenly Mink was brought back to reality. His English teacher was hovering in front of his desk with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you feeling ok? You look a little green. Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Mink replied, blinking several times. Truthfully, he'd stressed himself out with overthinking and now he felt a little uneasy in the stomach, but he just wanted to say anything to make the teacher go away. He didn't want to be the centre of attention right now. A few other students in the class were eyeing him, and he could hear them whispering to themselves, but he knew it probably wasn't about his green complexion. More likely, they were gossiping about his argument with Mizuki yesterday. He fervently wished his teacher had never approached him.

"Ok, well, if you need to be sick or anything like that, please don't hesitate to go to the bathroom," the teacher told him, still insisting on hovering around his desk and drawing attention to him. All Mink wanted was to blend into the background like he usually did.

"Sure, thanks," Mink mumbled in reply, averting his gaze. _Please let this class end soon. I can't take much more of this._

Thankfully, the teacher returned to her place out the front and continued conducting her class, making gestures every now and then to the slides being projected onto the wall. She glanced at Mink every now and then, presumably to check that he wasn't going to throw up on his desk, but class continued otherwise normally.

Finally, the second period bell rang. Mink packed his belongings up at light speed and rushed out the door, hoping to catch Sei in the hallway. He had Maths next which meant Sei wouldn't be in his class again, but they could at least walk there together. Mink stood on his toes, peering across the sea of heads in search for Sei, but he couldn't spot him anywhere, which was strange. Trying not to let it get to him, he headed off to Maths class alone.

For once, Mink actually participated in his class work. They were given a set of exercises to do from the Maths textbook, and Mink decided to do them, hoping it would keep his mind occupied enough that he wouldn't have time to think about things with Sei. He had to borrow a calculator from the teacher, but he slowly worked his way through the exercises, finding that he didn't actually hate Maths as much as he thought he did. Well, it was still boring and didn't interest him, but at the very least he didn't hate it. Maybe he'd actually do his class work more often. Maybe he could even get Sei to tutor him, since he was in the class above.

 _God damn it, again with the Sei bullshit!_ He mentally berated himself. He couldn't even go a measly couple of hours without that kid invading his thoughts. His crush was really getting out of hand.

Eventually, the bell rang for lunch time. Mink stood outside his Maths classroom in the hallway for a couple of minutes, waiting to see Sei before he had to go to detention, but again Sei was a no show. It was really strange. There was no way Sei had skipped his classes. He was too good a student for that, and besides, Mink had actually seen him walk into his English room. It suddenly crossed Mink's mind that Sei might be intentionally avoiding him. Maybe when Mink had said "We'll talk about it later" Sei hadn't really wanted to.

Troubled, Mink walked to the brick building where detention was held. He took the same seat he'd taken the last couple of days, and he sat there in silence, with nothing to distract him and no way to escape his own torrid thoughts. He had no study materials in his bag so it wasn't like he could study to keep his mind occupied again.

Was Sei really avoiding him? When would they get the chance to talk again? When would he be able to apologise? There were just way too many questions buzzing around in Mink's head. He had to stop himself before his overthinking made him feel too stressed and sick again.

He looked outside at the weather, the first time he'd checked the sky all day. It was still a little bit grey, but it didn't look like it was going to rain this afternoon. As far as Mink could tell, it actually looked like the weather might be gradually clearing up entirely. Maybe the weather forecast had been wrong, and it would actually be a fine day tomorrow. That would make a nice change.

When the bell rang to let Mink go to his third period class, he remembered he had Art History. That was perfect. Sei was in his class, which meant there was no more avoiding him. Mink sat in his seat behind Sei, who didn't look at him as he approached, but that was to be expected at this point. The teacher dimmed the lights and explained they'd be watching a documentary today, so they should take notes.

That was pretty convenient for Mink. Instead of taking notes, he decided he could probably pass notes to Sei. He took out his notebook and pens, and tore a page out from the middle where the staples were. He very carefully tore in a straight line, separating the paper so it was smaller and easier to pass without being spotted. Glancing around, he made sure no other students were watching. But most students either had their eyes glued to the documentary, or they were half-asleep on their desks, drowsy from the dim lighting.

Scribbling on the piece of paper, Mink tried to get across what he wanted to say. _"I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I've been trying to find the chance to apologise all day. I didn't mean what I said, I just wanted Mizuki to stop bothering me. I don't not care about you. Actually, I do care about you. I want to be friends."_ That was the first time he'd ever said anything like that to someone, and he could only hope Sei would read it and not just throw it away. He folded the paper up nice and small, and leant forwards across his desk.

"Psst," Mink whispered right behind Sei's ear, trying to get his attention. The thin boy jumped in surprise and turned around, his eyes wide in confusion. Mink jerked his chin downwards, directing Sei's gaze to the piece of paper in his hand. Sei glanced around the room, also making sure no one was watching, and shyly took the paper from Mink's fingertips.

A couple of minutes passed and Sei hadn't written a response or turned around again. He had given no indication that he'd even read the note Mink had passed him. Really, even now? He was still going to ignore him? Mink clenched his jaw, starting to get really frustrated with this childish behaviour. He didn't think he deserved this. He was only trying to make things right. He leant forwards again.

"Sei," he whispered. "Please read it." He didn't want to have to beg, but there it was. If that was what he had to do to get Sei to read his note, he supposed he'd just have to grin and bear it.

Immediately, making Mink feel that his begging was actually worth it, Sei's arm slowly bent around his back, his hand holding out a note for Mink to take. Mink leant forwards and took the note, eager to read the contents. His heart was beating in his throat and he felt stupidly nervous. This was it. Written on the small piece of paper in Sei's neat, bubbly handwriting was, _"I told Mizuki I'm not interested in him. I want to be friends with you too."_

Smiling to himself, Mink silently prepared another piece of paper. _"That's great…"_ His writing hand stopped dead in the middle of his sentence, and he looked up, a tall shadow looming over his desk. He gulped. Oh no. It was the art teacher.

"What do we have here? Passing notes? I thought you'd be above that, Mink," the teacher said, his voice snippy. He snatched up all the pieces of paper from Mink's desk and wandered back to his own desk, pausing the documentary. "Who were you passing notes to, Mink?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and peering at all the faces in the room. Mink didn't want to rat out on Sei. He kept his mouth shut. The teacher rolled his eyes. "That's fine if you won't tell me. I'll just have to read the notes to the class. Ahem. ' _I told Mizuki I'm not interested in him. I want to be friends with you too'_ …"

Mink could feel his face burning red, but thankfully the lighting was dim enough that his classmates probably wouldn't notice. As it was, some of them were openly laughing and snickering at him. There was nothing he could do about it, but he supposed at least they weren't laughing at Sei too. He'd happily take all of the blame and ridicule if it meant Sei would be shielded from it.

"If someone doesn't come clean," the teacher threatened, using a slow voice and pausing to glare at everyone one by one, "I'm going to give everyone lunch time detention for the rest of the week." He paused again to let his words sink in. Nobody wanted that to happen, but nobody made a sound. They didn't have an answer to give him, and Mink still wasn't willing to condemn Sei. "No takers? You have to the count of three. One…two…thr…"

"I wrote that note!" Sei exclaimed, standing up from his seat suddenly and interrupting the countdown. His chair clattered to the floor behind him in a dramatic way. "I was the one passing notes with Mink. Please don't punish anyone else." Poor, kind-hearted Sei. Mink shook his head slowly. Of course Sei would own up to it. He was too nice to be able to sit back and watch other people get punished for his mistakes.

The whole class started giggling even more. Somehow, the idea that Mink and Sei had been passing notes was hilarious to them. Mink rolled his eyes. Of course, he'd been right the other day when he assumed people would think they made a strange pair. But who cared what other people thought? At the moment, Mink was more concerned about Sei. The boy was still standing at his desk, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed. He looked a little defeated.

"Ok, thank you for your honesty, Sei," the teacher said, scrunching up the paper and lobbing it into the trash can. "You can sit down again now. Since you're new here, I'll explain things. You may have already guessed, but I have a zero tolerance policy for note-passing in my classroom. That means, from tomorrow you and your _friend_ Mink, will have detention for the rest of the week. Oh… Mink, I'm aware you already have detention this week, so that just means you'll have an extra two days next week, ok?" Mink rolled his eyes but didn't say anything in response. "Now that that's settled, can we please return to the documentary? I want you all to finish watching it before this period is over, because there'll be a short quiz on Friday."

The teacher hit play on the documentary again and the class fell back into a sleepy stupor. Nobody was saying anything and the laughing had ceased, but every now and then Mink could feel cruel eyes boring into him, and it made him uncomfortable. He was used to people staring at him or making fun of him because of his size or demeanour, but he realised this was different. These kids were now making fun of him because he was trying to make friends. Some people were disgusting.

Just as the bell was ringing, the documentary credits began to roll. The teacher breathed a sigh of relief that they'd finished in time and dismissed them with a swift movement of his hand. Mink gathered up his things and headed into the hallway, waiting for Sei so they could walk to Biology together. He was a little bit concerned that things might not go back to the way they were right away, but as soon as Sei walked out, those worries disappeared.

"I can't believe I got detention…" Sei mumbled, falling into step beside Mink, who was walking slightly slower than usual so Sei could keep up easily. Sei's head was still hung low and he had a dejected expression on his face. Mink thought it was a bit of an overreaction.

"It's not that bad," Mink commented, trying to make Sei feel better. "You just have to sit there for an hour and they don't really care what you do, but they give you time to eat your lunch." More than anything though, he was just pleased that they'd managed to work through their little argument. He didn't care that he had two extra days of detention. It was well worth it to him if he got to keep being friends with Sei.

"Not just that," Sei continued, pouting slightly. "I mean, I've never gotten detention before in my life! Will this go on my permanent record?" His hands were fidgeting together in front of him as he walked and he was biting his lower lip like he was really anxious about the whole thing actually affecting his future. Mink imaged the inside of Sei's head, with all his negative thoughts crashing into each other like bumper cars. It was absurd.

"Is that really what you're worried about?" Mink asked, chuckling. Sei just responded by nodding his head up and down. "Don't worry about it," Mink advised. "It's not going to stop you from getting into university or anything like that. Your grades are more important than this, and I'm sure you've got great grades. So, it's really no big deal. It's just detention, and it's not even for a long time."

When Sei's expression didn't shift in the slightest, the pit of Mink's stomach started to feel heavy with guilt. He'd been trying to make light of things because he didn't care about things like detention, but it was clear that it was bothering Sei a lot more. He really hoped Sei didn't blame him for this. He thought he should learn from his previous mistakes and apologise immediately to avoid anything coming between them again so soon. After all, it was technically Mink's fault that Sei had been passing notes in the first place.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Mink cleared his throat. "Listen, you don't… Um, what I meant to say was… I'm…"

Sei shook his head, interrupting before Mink could finish. "I don't blame you, Mink," he assured the big guy. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just worried they might send a letter home. My parents would be furious about this… Anyway, we should go in." It took Mink a second to register that they'd been hovering just outside the Biology classroom door while they finished the last bit of their conversation.

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed, feeling relieved that Sei wasn't holding anything against him. But then again, Sei didn't really seem like the type to hold grudges. Well, apart from giving Mink the cold shoulder all morning, that is.

Biology was no more interesting than usual. The teacher wrote notes up on the whiteboard, and Sei copied them down diligently while Mink scribbled lazily in his margins. Mink thought the room seemed a little stuffier than usual even with the windows open, and it made him feel more lethargic than usual. He was fighting to keep his heavy eyelids open while the teacher was droning on about the different sections of the human brain and their functions. He idly wondered which part of the brain handled dreaming, and which part handled daydreaming? Were they the same or different?

Mink allowed himself to drift away, swept off his feet by a vivid daydream. The first thing he'd do when he got home this afternoon would be to tend to his garden. He wanted to start constructing a new garden box and maybe buy some herb plants on the weekend. He'd have to study more from his herb book first, of course. He thought about what materials they had in the shed. There should be enough wood to knock something up. It didn't look like it would rain again this afternoon, so it would be the perfect time for it. After that, he'd have a shower to wash all the sweat from his body, and then he'd relax in front of the TV, watching something mindless until it was time to start on dinner…

"Mink, are you ready to go?" Sei's voice asked. Mink opened his eyes, realising the lesson was over. He stifled a yawn and Sei laughed at him a little bit. "You don't really pay attention in class, do you?" Sei was putting his books away in his bag and shaking his head, but not in a judgemental way. It didn't seem to bother him too much that Mink was a terrible student. He just seemed amused by it. Maybe because of how drastically different their attitudes were towards education.

They both walked out the school gates together, and parted ways just before the bus pick-up zone. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mink!" Sei said, waving and sounding much more cheerful than yesterday afternoon. Mink raised his arm above his head and waved over his shoulder as he walked along the footpath, headed home.

Man, it had been a long, stressful day. Mink's feet padded on the concrete in long, even strides. His hands were jammed in his pockets and he breathed out a sigh. He was tired. It was surprisingly taxing on his body, surprisingly exhausting, to have to be so social like that. In the morning he'd been fretting and making himself sick worrying about whether or not Sei hated him, and now that he had a confirmed answer, he still felt strangely dissatisfied. It was relieving, sure, but… Something still felt off. Sei had expressed that he wanted to be friends too, which was the only thing Mink had latched onto at the time. But thinking about it just a little bit more now…

Wasn't Sei still acting kind of strange? Mink supposed he'd never really had a chance to let his feelings out. It had gone from the cold shoulder and blatant avoidance, immediately to forgiveness and smiles all over again. Well, maybe not smiles since Sei seemed bummed about the detention. But it had gone back to easy conversation as if it had skipped the middle step of Sei actually confronting Mink about the situation. Surely he had some unspoken thoughts and feelings about the whole issue. Particularly…about calling Mink a mean person. That had never been clarified properly. Mink made a mental note, if the opportunity arose, he'd definitely bring it up again. Even if it just lead to more trouble. It wouldn't be good for Sei to hold back his emotions like that.

Finally, Mink was home, and he started enacting the plan he'd loosely formed in his daydream during biology. He dumped his school bag unceremoniously in the living room and moved to the kitchen, yanking open the fridge door to examine the contents. He poured himself a cold glass of water and opened up the cupboard doors, searching for something to snack on while he cooled down from the walk home. He snapped his fingers, smiling to himself as he remembered the cookies Sei had baked for him yesterday. This would be the perfect time to enjoy them.

But where were they?

Moving all the other boxes and canned goods about on the shelf, Mink practically turned the cupboard inside out, rearranging everything in search of the precious cookies. Where were they? He distinctly remembered putting them in the back corner, but they were nowhere to be found.

 _What the fuck?_

Mink grumbled to himself. He turned to the pile of dirty dishes resting in the sink. His parents often let their shit pile up during the day and Mink ended up being the one to wash it up later in the evening. Sure enough, there was the container that had held the cookies, now empty except for a few measly crumbs in the bottom. Mink scowled, furious not only that his parents had stolen his food, but also that he hadn't even gotten the chance to enjoy Sei's cookies.

"Guess I'll have to ask him to bake something else for me…" Mink mumbled non-committally. He'd feel kind of guilty asking for something like that. He considered explaining the situation to Sei, but he resolved that it might be better to just lie in the end, and tell Sei that he ate all the cookies and enjoyed them.

Now he didn't really feel like building another garden box. He wasn't really in the mood for it anymore. Either way, he still went outside to check on his garden and water his trees. He mixed together another sugar-water solution to feed the runt tree again, and he pruned a couple of branches off his rose bushes to keep them neat and healthy. Everything else seemed to be going strong and there were no issues. No infestations of bugs, no birds or snails eating the leaves or buds, and no bushes drowning from the recent rain. That was a good sign.

What was Mink going to do now? He had a lot of time to kill. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He nodded to himself thoughtfully and went back into the kitchen, washing his hands in the sink after gardening. Once the dirt was down the drain and his hands were clean, Mink set his eyes on the cupboard again, this time searching for ingredients. He'd never really baked anything like cakes or cookies before, so he had to consult an old family cookbook for measurement reference. I seemed they had just enough self-raising flour to make one cake, but that was all he needed. Gathering the ingredients together on the bench, Mink read through the recipe, trying to remember all the steps.

He'd decided to try and bake a cake for Sei, as a form of apology for making him get detention. Even when they'd said goodbye that afternoon, Mink could tell the whole detention thing was still bothering him, but he knew there had to be some way to cheer him up. Mink turned the dials on the oven to preheat it, and he prepared the cake tin with grease and baking paper, trying to follow the instructions as closely as possible so nothing went wrong. He felt a little nervous, but also a little excited. It was a nice feeling cooking something for someone else for a change, not just a plain dinner for himself.

Carefully measuring the ingredients, Mink poured everything into a large mixing bowl and began to work furiously at it with a wooden spoon. Once everything was combined nicely, all he had to add was half a teaspoon of vanilla essence for some flavour. He'd chosen to make a vanilla sponge cake, and he decided he'd make it more interesting by icing it when it was done. He cautiously unscrewed the lid on the tiny bottle, and the overpowering smell of fake vanilla wafted up to greet him. He wrinkled his nose, hoping it would taste better than it smelt, because it smelt incredibly strong. Very carefully, he tilted the bottle over the teaspoon, trying to measure the correct amount.

 _Oops, shit._ He spilled a little bit of it over the sides of the teaspoon. By a little bit, well… Probably about three or four times the amount that was needed. He also got a little bit of it on his fingers, which he brought to his lips and licked off absent-mindedly. He immediately grimaced. It tasted so bad by itself. Mink stirred the mixture one more time, and dipped his finger in to try the taste. It was definitely…very vanilla. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, smearing cake batter on his jaw.

 _How to fix this… Maybe sugar? That should counteract the bitter vanilla._ Mink poured another third of a cup of sugar into the mixture and stirred again. The consistency seemed to have changed very slightly, and the taste was a lot sweeter. It still wasn't that great. Mink frowned, glaring down at the recipe in the book. He couldn't really understand why it had gone so wrong. He'd followed everything almost perfectly. He sighed. _Man, this cooking stuff is harder than it looks. Hopefully it will still taste ok when it's fully done._

Spooning the mixture into the cake tin, Mink tried his hardest not to spill any on the bench. He tapped the tin on the bench to try and level it out, and placed it into the ready oven. He set a timer for about 20 minutes, and set to work on the icing. He flipped to a different page in the cookbook and got out the additional ingredients required. He sifted the icing sugar and mixed it with some milk and red food colouring he'd found in the cupboard. It looked pretty good. He was impressed with himself. He set it aside in the fridge and started washing the dishes, cleaning up after himself.

Just as he was finishing with the dishes, the timer started beeping to indicate that the cake was done. Mink donned the thick oven mitts and carefully took the cake tin out of the oven. He put it on a wooden chopping board on the bench so he couldn't leave burn marks on the bench surface. The cookbook had told him to lightly press on top of the cake to check if it was done. If it bounced back up, it should be cooked all the way through. Mink gently pressed his fingertips in the dead centre of the round cake, or at least, he thought he'd been gentle about it. He accidently pressed an indent into the cake which didn't spring back up. He looked around in panic, but there wasn't really any way to fix it. He would just have to try and cover it up with the icing. He shook his head at his own stupidity.

As a safety measure, just to be sure the cake actually was cooked properly, Mink stuck a long skewer in. It came out clean, and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand partly in relief and partly to mop his brow of sweat. It was pretty warm in the kitchen, with the heat from the oven combined with the heat from the hot dish water. He leant over and opened the kitchen window, inviting a nice breeze in.

It was time to ice the cake. Mink took the icing out of the fridge. It had hardened a little bit too much while waiting, but he stirred it up again and it looked fine to use. He dug around in the kitchen drawers, rifling about amongst the baking paper and cling wrap until he found the Ziploc bags. There was a tip in the cookbook that said you could use them in place of a piping bag if you didn't have access to one. He snipped the corner off and filled it with the icing mixture. So far, so good. This part seemed to be going well. How hard could it be to write on a cake?

As soon as he tried to squeeze a little bit of icing out of the makeshift piping bag, it was a mess. The icing didn't go where he wanted and didn't go in a straight line. But he persevered, trying to make his writing as neat as possible despite the handicap. He messily spelt out "SORRY 4 DETENTION" on the top of the cake, and stood back to admire his work.

It looked fucking awful. But as a first attempt at baking something, he supposed it could have gone a lot worse. At the very least, even if it tasted terrible, hopefully the shabby appearance would make Sei laugh.

Mink left the cake on the cooling rack while he started on dinner. Tonight he'd decided to have a pasta dish with a tomato based sauce. He was much more suited to this kind of cooking. While he was simmering the sauce, he heard one of his parents come home through the front door. He almost called out to confront them about the stolen cookies, but decided against it. He didn't really have the energy to deal with them.

After dinner, he put the cake away safely, washed some more dishes, and showered before bed. When his head finally hit the pillow, his eyes fell closed immediately and his body began to feel the stress of the day once again. Although the shower had loosened his muscles, he still ached all over. His body desperately yearned for sleep, and yet his mind continued to buzz, filled with thoughts of excitement. He couldn't wait to give that shitty cake to Sei tomorrow.


	4. Thursday

The next morning, when Mink was getting ready to leave for school, he was making lunch for himself and carefully packing his things into his backpack so he'd have room to transport the cake safely. He opened the fridge door to retrieve it, and hesitated for a moment. Something was different. The container lid wasn't closed properly, and Mink didn't remember leaving it that way. Maybe it had come loose when he'd put it in the fridge yesterday and he hadn't noticed. He placed the container on the bench and opened it to check the cake was still ok.

Instantly, he felt his blood boiling in his veins. Half the cake was missing. Someone – obviously one of his parents – had decided to help themselves to the cake he'd made for Sei. Were they that stupid? Were they that selfish? Mink couldn't believe it.

"Mum!" he yelled upstairs. "Dad!" No answer. They wouldn't be at work yet, it was still too early for that. They were probably still asleep. But Mink wasn't planning on letting them snooze peacefully. He was sick of this. First his cookies, now his cake. He thought he had a right to be angry about this.

Stomping up the stairs to make his approach known, Mink slammed his knuckles against his parents' bedroom door. "Mum! Dad! I need to talk to you!" he called out again, keeping his voice raised so it would be impossible to ignore him. And yet, somehow, there was still no answer. Mink rapped his knuckles on the door again, a little harder this time and more furiously. "Wake up! I need to talk to you!"

Finally, there was a muffled reply from behind the other side of the door, something mumbled into a pillow. It sounded like someone had said "Go away" in a half asleep tone. Mink shook his head, balling his hands into fists until his knuckles turned white. His teeth were clenched so tightly he was almost hurting his own jaw. He didn't want to bang on the door again in case he accidentally broke it in his rage.

"I'm not going away!" Mink shouted back. "I'm really pissed at you! You have to stop eating my food!"

Suddenly the door flew open, and his mother was standing in front of him, her hair dishevelled and her eyes weary from sleep. "What do you want, Mink?" she asked, her voice a little groggy and irritable. "I'm trying to get some sleep before work. I was up late last night." She was dressed in a loose dressing gown, and she smelt like she'd been drinking last night. It was probably the first time Mink had seen his mother face to face for about a week. Even though they all lived together, his parents were usually out of the house and left Mink money to look after himself.

"Which one of you ate my cookies the other day?" Mink snapped, ignoring his mother's irritation. He wouldn't let her distract him or let her turn things around on him like she always tried to. He needed to maintain his anger in order to get through the entire conversation. "And which one of you ate half my cake last night?" he added.

Mink's mother just shrugged, not really caring. Why would she? The situation didn't really affect her. To her, it was just baked goods. They weren't anything special to her. "Look," she said slowly, completely brushing off Mink's anger. "I don't know anything about your cookies or your cake. All I've eaten was your soup the other night. Ask your father about the other stuff." Her nonchalant attitude was only serving to get on Mink's nerves even more.

"Fine, then I'll ask him right now!" Mink said, moving to get past her through the doorway.

His mother sighed, stepping aside and opening the door to reveal an empty room. "He hasn't been home since last night," she informed him. "But I can tell him for you when he gets home from work this afternoon."

"I'll tell him myself when he gets home," Mink snapped, knowing full well that his mother couldn't be trusted to pass on any messages for him. He stomped back downstairs to finish getting ready for school, intending on just taking the half-cake anyway.

When Mink got back downstairs, he glanced at the time on the microwave clock. _Damn it_. He was running late now after that confrontation. He couldn't afford to be late for home room again. He didn't want more days added to his detention; he had enough as it was. He crammed the last of his stuff into his bag and dashed out the front door without eating breakfast. Walking down the road, he made sure his pace was fast enough that he would get there just as the bell was ringing. He didn't want to run and risk ruining the cake in his bag even more than it already was.

And…luckily his timing was just right. The bell began to ring just as Mink's foot was passing through the doorway, so Mr Arnby had nothing he could complain about today. Mink quickly took his seat next to Sei, feeling a little out of breath and light headed from the lack of food combined with the rushing to school. He brushed a strand of hair out of his face and sighed, leaning on his desk with his elbows. Now wasn't really the right time to give Sei his cake, since all the other students in the classroom would see and it would probably just give them more fuel to add to their bullying fire. He'd wait until a break between classes.

The announcements were read by Mr Arnby, and unsurprisingly there was nothing new. Mink watched Sei out of the corner of his eye. Neither of them had said a word to each other yet. Would things still be a little awkward like yesterday or would everything be back to normal straight away? It was a little hard to judge the atmosphere this early in the morning, especially with Mr Arnby blabbing on in the background. But the bell soon rang and signalled the start of first period, which was English so Mink and Sei would be split up into their different level classes.

They walked there together and the conversation picked up as soon as they left the room. "Are you busy on the weekend, Mink?" Sei asked, his expression thoughtful. He wasn't meeting Mink's gaze, but instead staring off into the distance in front of them. Mink wondered exactly what was going on inside that head of his. Why did he ask about the weekend? Did he have some kind of motive or was he just making small talk?

Shrugging, Mink replied, "I was thinking about building a garden box and starting a proper herb garden." It was true, he had been mulling over that plan quite a bit yesterday, but he still hadn't found the motivation to read through the herb book. All he'd given it was a quick flick-through and that probably wasn't good enough. He didn't even know what kind of herbs he wanted or what soil they needed or how much shelter…

"That sounds interesting," Sei commented. "So you'd be building the garden box from scratch? I didn't realise you were creative like that. Oh, uh, not to say you're not creative. I just meant… I didn't realise you were into woodwork. Why don't you take it as a subject here?" Sei stumbled over his words a little but ended in a nice recovery. His cheeks were showing a slight red hue and Mink chuckled quietly at his awkwardness. He always seemed to try so hard not to insult people. He was almost too considerate, if such a thing was possible.

Mink shrugged in response again. "I'm not really interested in studying woodwork. Anything I need to make, I can just look it up and teach myself. Like garden boxes, they're really easy if you have the right tools. I don't need any formal instruction," he answered. Not to mention, half the woodwork class this year was full of people who didn't really want to put effort in and just slacked off all the time, which would get on Mink's nerves. Slacking off in a science or history class was tolerable, but slacking off in a creative, hands-on class seemed far worse.

Nodding wisely along with Mink's explanation, Sei looked very pensive, like he was trying to figure Mink out. He opened his mouth as if to ask a follow up question, but unfortunately time cut him short. They'd just arrived at the English block, so they had to part ways for class. "I'll see you next period," Sei said in farewell, giving Mink a small wave as he joined the crowd lining up outside the doorway.

Somehow, English class for Mink was slightly better than usual. The teacher was going over the exact same character analyses they'd covered in the last lesson, and even though Mink hadn't been 100% focussed, what he'd been listening to in the background had still stuck with him, so he felt like he could actually understand the work well enough to pass his essay. Apparently it was due in about two weeks, and the teacher was encouraging everyone to start planning tonight when they got home. Mink obviously wasn't going to follow that advice.

Next period was Art History. Mink re-joined Sei in the hallway and they walked there together, with Sei excitedly discussing his plans for his own essay, and trying unsuccessfully to bounce ideas off Mink.

"What do you think? Is that a good concept?" Sei asked, his hands fiddling with his bag strap. He looked up at Mink with a nervous expression on his face, eagerly awaiting whatever compliment or criticism Mink would provide as feedback.

"It sounds…good," Mink said, clearing his throat. Truthfully, he hadn't really understood a large part of what Sei had been trying to explain, probably because they'd been assigned different books and plays to read. But he didn't want to admit that and make himself look stupid. "I think you should just…write whatever you want to write about it. If you think it sounds good, do that. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Sei rolled his eyes a little. "I was actually hoping for something a little more helpful than that," he commented. "Did it make sense to you? It wasn't too confusing? I've always been told when writing essays, you should make sure even people who haven't read the same texts can understand the general idea."

"I don't know. What am I, an English teacher?" Mink snapped, deflecting. "You should just write up your plan or a draft or whatever, and take it to your teacher to ask their opinion. I'm sure they'd be much more helpful than me." Mink sighed a little, hoping this wouldn't become a common thing. He didn't mind Sei chatting with him while they walked to class, but it made him a little uncomfortable when Sei tried to discuss homework or assignments with him. There wasn't anything he could contribute to the conversation. It just made the difference between him and Sei even more glaringly obvious. Sei was a dedicated, smart student, and Mink just wasn't.

"Ok, I'll do that then," Sei agreed. His tone sounded pretty disappointed and there was a tiny crease between his eyebrows. It seemed like he'd really wanted to be study-buddies or something like that with Mink. Man, he'd really picked the wrong person for it though.

"Look, um…" Mink started. He averted his eyes and chewed his bottom lip for a second, trying to think of how to get his words right. He really didn't want to disappoint Sei or let him down. "I might not be able to help you much, but if you do write a draft, I guess I can try to read it for you and point out the parts I don't understand. Maybe if you get comments from an idiot like me, it can help you explain things so anyone can understand, you know?"

"Oh, Mink, you don't have to do that!" Sei said, waving his hands in a flustered manner and suddenly back-pedalling. He had instantly picked up on what was going on. "I like sharing my work and ideas with people, but I understand if you don't want to be a part of that. I would never force you to read anything for me. I'm sorry for being disappointed. I really wasn't trying to guilt you into anything, I swear. It's just… I haven't really made any other friends here yet… So I have no one else to share these ideas with."

Mink was a little relieved that he wouldn't have to proofread any essay drafts. Even though he'd suggested it, he'd been very reluctant about it. "I'll listen any time you want to talk about your assignments, but you can't expect me to give you good feedback. I am in the lower English class than you, after all," he told Sei. He wasn't really sure what to say about Sei not being able to make friends though. Something encouraging? He wasn't sure he knew how to be encouraging.

Was it possible Sei was bitter about being friends with Mink? Like Mizuki had said the other day, Mink was the freak of the school. Too big and too imposing and too unfriendly for anyone to really give a damn about him. And by being associated with Mink, maybe some of that had rubbed off on Sei. Maybe Sei was having a hard time making friends not just because he was shy, but because he was already friends with Mink, who nobody liked. Mizuki had definitely been interested in Sei, so if Sei hadn't already been friends with Mink, he would have had a chance at making friends with some of the popular kids in school. Did Sei regret his decision? It worried Mink a little bit, but he didn't want to bring it up now.

"No need to take your seats today, gentlemen," the Art History teacher's voice called out before they'd even entered the classroom. The spun around to see him and the rest of the class loitering in the hallway. "Today, we're going out to the oval to draw."

 _Drawing? Seriously?_ This was Art History, not Visual Arts. If Mink had wanted to actually practice art, he would have changed subjects. This was definitely very weird. But he and Sei followed behind the rest of the class without complaint. When they arrived at the grassy oval, Mink had a chance to look at the weather. It was perfect. The sky was a very nice blue and there were light, fluffy clouds hanging in it. It looked like the weather had cleared up in time for the weekend, which was great news.

The teacher continued to explain the lesson plan for the day. "Everyone is going to be given a random piece of paper with a different art style on it. You have to try and draw something you can see from this oval – it could be the school buildings, the trees, a trashcan, anything – in that art style. If you don't really know what it looks like, that's fine. We're going to be looking at them in more detail when we go back to the classroom." The entire class collectively groaned. Everyone had been hoping the entire lesson would be out here on the oval. The fresh air was really nice. Having to go back to the stuffy classroom would make it much more difficult to engage in the lesson, but there was nothing they could do about it. "You have 20 minutes," the teacher added. "Get started."

Mink grabbed his piece of paper and immediately knew what he was going to draw as soon as he read it. He'd gotten abstract art, so he was going to draw the trees, something he was actually not bad at. He looked over Sei's shoulder, trying to sneak a peek at the art style Sei had been given. "Pop art?" he asked Sei. "Seems hard. What are you going to draw?"

"I was thinking, the grass and the gate over there," Sei replied, indicating the direction with his pencil. "I'm not sure how to get the effect right, though."

"What are the common features of pop art?" the teacher interjected, overhearing the conversation. "Try to incorporate what you know." Not the most helpful advice, but Mink supposed he wasn't going to give anything away too easily. That would defeat the purpose of the exercise.

"Bright colours… But I don't have any coloured pencils," Sei said thoughtfully. "Hmm… Strong contours and bold lines, maybe sometimes dots for shading? I think I can do something with that." While Sei voiced his thoughts out loud, Mink busied himself with sketching on his own piece of paper. Sei looked over at his work and gave a little gasp of surprise. "Mink, that looks really good!" he complimented excitedly.

"Thanks," Mink mumbled, a little embarrassed. Sei's loud exclamation had drawn attention to him.

The teacher came over again to inspect Mink's work. "Hm. Yes, very good work Mink," he commented. "I'm surprised you're not taking Visual Arts." Mink resisted the urge to ask him what the point of this exercise was since this class clearly wasn't Visual Arts.

"That's a good point," Sei agreed brightly. "Why aren't you taking Visual Arts?" Mink supressed a laugh. First woodwork, and now this. It seemed like almost all of his conversations with Sei today had involved him explaining why he didn't want to study one subject or another. Why was it so hard for some people to understand Mink's general lack of interest in studying?"

"I like drawing sometimes as a hobby," Mink explained, with a loose shrug of his shoulders. "It's something I do absent-mindedly when I'm bored. I don't want to study it because that puts pressure on me to do well, and then suddenly what was a fun hobby for me just stresses me out. Plus, I don't want some old hag judging what I draw and telling me it's not good enough for her standards."

"I guess that makes sense," Sei said slowly. The art teacher was still within earshot, and Sei seemed a little concerned about what Mink said being taken as offensive, so he politely elaborated, "Art is about expression and everyone interprets things differently. It would be really hard to mark people's art."

"How's yours going?" Mink asking, quickly changing the subject and eyeing the teacher out of the corner of his eye as he walked away. He looked over at Sei as the boy tilted his page so he could see easier. It was pretty decent. He'd definitely incorporated the bold lines, simple shapes and dot-shading technique. Mink just kept questioning over and over in his head what the point of a practical exercise was in a theory class.

After a little while, the teacher called for everyone to lower their pencils and return to class, so Mink supposed he would finally get his answer. If he was expecting something actually worthwhile, however, he was mistaken. The teacher simply compared students' crappy art to actual examples of the real styles, demonstrating appropriate techniques and features and ones that didn't fit at all. It was just one big waste of time, but at least part of the lesson had been relaxing outside in the nice weather.

"Sei, don't forget," the teacher called out as the bell rang and everyone stood to leave. "You've got your first lunch time detention today. This means right now." Mink rolled his eyes. Did Sei really look like someone who needed to be reminded of important things? No, that kid was pretty organised and good with self-management.

"Thank you, sir," Sei replied as he and Mink walked out the door, headed to the detention building together as well. They'd been pretty much inseparable all morning. Maybe it was just luck that they'd had classes they could walk to together, but either way Mink was really enjoying getting to talk with Sei so much. It was pretty different from when they'd first met.

 _Maybe it wasn't a crush after all,_ Mink thought to himself while they walked. _I don't seem to be so nervous and flustered around him anymore. I can still recognise that he's beautiful but I'm not so put off by it. Maybe I was just imagining things, and I confused wanting to be friends with him with something else._ It was quite possible, especially considering Mink hadn't really had much experience with being friends with people before.

"I really did like your art earlier," Sei brought up, smiling up at Mink. "You really are amazing, Mink."

Mink's heart skipped a beat and he felt himself blushing heavily at the compliment.

 _Never mind then. Looks like I still have that stupid crush._

"Th-thanks," he mumbled. "Anyway, uh, this is the detention room." He motioned for Sei to go through the doorway first and inform the teacher at the desk that he was there for his scheduled detention so he wouldn't accidentally be marked as absent.

They sat at desks directly next to each other even though they wouldn't be able to talk for the entire hour. But it was nice. Mink didn't feel so alone. He gazed out the window and watched the clouds while time passed, feeling genuinely surprised at how today had turned out so far. For once, he'd actually been having a pretty good day at school. Who would have thought?

When the teacher signalled that everyone could have a few minutes to eat their lunch quietly, Mink looked over at Sei's desk curiously. They still weren't allowed to speak, but it was the first time Mink had actually had the chance to eat lunch with Sei this week, and he was wondering what kind of food Sei liked. Considering how much Sei liked baking, Mink was expecting something like cake and cookies, but the pale boy was actually holding a salad wrap _. Is he watching his weight or something? He's already so thin. That's ridiculous._

Eventually, the bell rang again and signalled their freedom. Standing from his desk into a stretch, Mink let out a long yawn. Despite the day going so well so far, he hadn't changed his mind about wanting it to be over soon. As he and Sei exited the room, he asked jokingly, "So how was that for your first detention ever?"

Sei shook his head vigorously. "I hated it!" he responded, taking Mink by surprise. "You said it would be easy to sit through, but it was so quiet and eerie, I couldn't even really focus on studying! I felt like I couldn't move an inch at my desk without the supervisor staring me down like I was doing something wrong."

Laughing loudly, Mink slapped Sei on the shoulder. "Yeah, that's about right," he said, thoroughly amused by Sei's reaction. It was hard to really imagine Sei hating anything so passionately. It was just… kind of funny. Mink was so blasé about detention and Sei was so riled up about it. Total opposites yet again.

"Anyway," Sei said, breathing out a heavy sigh. "We have Biology next, right?" Mink nodded in confirmation, slightly impressed that Sei was already memorising his timetable so well. Even Mink had to keep checking between periods, but he supposed if Sei could study and memorise notes, remembering when his classes were should be a walk in the park for him.

Speaking of walks in the park… Mink really wanted to go on that picnic. And the weather on the weekend would be perfect for it. He'd had to put it off all week, but finally he'd be able to get what he wanted. He just had to get through the rest of this afternoon and then tomorrow, and then he was free to do what he wanted for an entire two days. He wondered briefly if he should invite Sei along or if that would be weird.

"Oh, yeah," Mink exclaimed, suddenly remembering about Sei's cake. They had to walk all the way to the other side of the school to get to Biology so now would be a fine time to give it to him. He doubted he'd have time after school. While walking, he shifted his backpack around to his front and carefully took the cake out of it. "I, uh, made this for you. As an apology."

Sei stared at the cake in Mink's hands, dumbfounded and speechless for a moment. His mouth was a little slack, and he looked from Mink to the cake and back again, his expression very confused. "Is this…a cake?" he asked after a short pause.

Mink hesitated, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. "Yeah…It's a cake," he confirmed, trying to hide the shyness from his voice. _He doesn't like the cake! This was a stupid idea! Why did I make this? It's terrible!_

Without warning, Sei burst into laughter. He stopped walking for a second, overcome with his laughter. He was practically doubled over with tears in his eyes. Mink stopped walking at the same time, standing still and holding the cake, unsure of what to say.

"It just says SOR DETEN!" Sei exclaimed in between laughing. "What is that, Mink? It sounds like some kind of meme! Thank you! I love it!" He was shaking his head and wiping the tears from his eyes, still unable to bring a halt to his laughter.

Mink joined in with the laughter, feeling very relieved that Sei didn't hate his cake. "Well, it was supposed to say SORRY 4 DETENTION but my Dad ate half the cake last night," he explained. "Also, I'm not sure you should actually eat it," he added. "I messed it up pretty bad. It's probably not safe to consume. You might die."

Now it was Sei's turn to slap Mink's shoulder in amusement. Was that a thing he'd picked up from Mink? Interesting. "Don't worry about it," he assured Mink. "I'm sure it'll be just fine." He took the container from Mink and placed the cake carefully into his own bag, still giggling to himself. "I'll try it after school when I get home. We should probably get to class now." He was right. They'd already delayed for a couple of minutes and they were at risk of being late now. They picked up their pace and made it to class just as the bell was ringing.

Throughout the class, although he was writing notes the same as always, the atmosphere around Sei seemed a little less focussed than usual. Mink could hear him giggling under his breath every now and then, probably getting distracted thinking about that godforsaken cake. Now that Mink thought about it, he thought today was the first time he'd heard Sei laugh like that, possibly even the first time he'd heard the boy laugh at all. He kept replaying it in his mind, unable to stop himself from thinking about how Sei's laughter sounded like music. He was adorable and his smile really could light up a room.

Mink thought more about the picnic on the weekend. Biology class was always his time for daydreaming after all. Would it be weird to invite Sei though? That was the question. He could pack up the red and white picnic blanket and make a nice lunch for them. He could even ask Sei to bake bread or something to bring along. They could probably find a nice shady spot somewhere and cloud watch together. But…would it be weird? Mink kept asking himself the same question over and over, like a broken record, until the bell for the end of class rang and brought him back to reality.

"Thanks again for the cake," Sei said as they were packing up their belongings to leave. "I can't wait to go home and try it." Mink held himself back from repeating his warning. Maybe the cake wouldn't be so bad after all. The next class they had, the last class of the day, was Maths, which meant they'd be able to walk together once again. Sei must have been following a similar train of thought because he said, "I can already tell Thursday is going to be my favourite day of the week because I've gotten to spend so much time talking to you today."

Inside his chest, Mink felt his heart beating fast, slamming against his ribcage. This was so unfair. Why did he have to be afflicted with something like this? He'd been doing such a good job being in control of his emotions all day, and now Sei went and did something like this to him. He could feel himself blushing again, and he had no way to hide it. Clearing his throat and trying to ignore his dry mouth, he simply replied, "You're welcome." He could barely speak and it was a challenge just to get that out.

On the walk to Maths, Mink remained silent and let Sei do all the talking. He didn't mind listening to Sei talking about a new cookbook he was excited to pre-order next month. He didn't pay exact attention to what Sei was saying, but it wasn't like he was going to be asked any questions or be tested on it. He just let Sei's sweet voice play in the back of his mind while he tried to reorganise his thoughts and regain control of himself.

He knew he had a crush on Sei, so what? He'd known for a couple of days. That didn't change anything now, did it? Except that… Sei was being so nice to him and complimenting him a lot, and genuinely seemed to enjoy spending time with him and talking to him. All of that just served to encourage Mink's little crush. But he had to reign himself in right now. He had to stay grounded and remind himself that nothing was expected to come from this. He knew it was one-sided from the very beginning and he had to remind himself not to get his hopes up, at all costs.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right, Mink?" Sei asked, interrupting his thoughts. Mink nodded in goodbye and they split off into their different Maths classrooms.

 _Tomorrow… I'll ask him if he's busy on the weekend tomorrow. Depending on how he answers, I'll invite him on a picnic. Just as friends. I'm completely happy to just be friends. At least I have a friend now, anyway. But… if he ever did show any signs of reciprocating… Maybe… No, I can't think like that. It doesn't matter. Better to have him in my life as a friend than not at all. I'm sure I'll get over these feelings eventually._

Maths class passed by without any excitement, and Mink walked home without running into anyone at the bus stop. When he got home, the first thing he did was go upstairs to check if his father was home so he could finally confront him about the stolen cake and cookies. But unfortunately, his father was still out. So he went to his room, grabbed his herb book from the shelf, and collapsed backwards onto his bed, planning on reading until it was time to cook dinner.


	5. Friday

"Good morning, Mink!" Sei greeted him cheerfully as Mink took his seat in home room. It was Friday, the day right before the weekend, so everyone in the room had an excited kind of aura surrounding them. Excited for the end pf the week. Sei continued, "I tried your cake yesterday. It was…definitely something."

Mink laughed. "That sounds bad," he replied. "Why don't you just admit it was bad?"

Sei seemed to hesitate for a moment, struggling and caught between wanting to be honest and wanting to spare Mink's feelings. "It wasn't…that bad," he said slowly, avoiding eye contact and fiddling with his hands in his lap. It was so blatantly obvious that he was lying, but Mink wasn't going to press for more. If Sei wanted to be nice and avoid insulting Mink's baking skills, that was fine but Mink knew the truth. That cake had not been made to be consumed by man.

While Mr Arnby began reading through the announcements, Mink lowered his voice to continue speaking to Sei. "Are you busy on the weekend?" he asked. He was actually going through with it, just like he'd promised himself. It was taking a fair bit of courage, but he was actually going to do it, actually going to ask Sei to hang out with him on the weekend. He could remember Sei bringing up the topic of the weekend yesterday, but couldn't remember if he'd mentioned any plans or not.

Tapping his chin thoughtfully, Sei's eyes glossed over momentarily while he thought about his plans. "I'm pretty sure I'm free on Sunday afternoon," he replied. "Did you want to do something? Do you need help making your garden box?"

Mink shook his head slightly, laughing internally. Sei had actually bothered to remember that small detail Mink had mentioned. Sei really was incredible. "Actually, I was going to make the garden box on Saturday," Mink explained. "I was reading more of my herb book last night and… Never mind."

"No, keep going!" Sei interjected. "I'm interested! I'm listening!"

"No, it's not that," Mink corrected. "I was just getting off topic. I was going to invite you on a picnic."

"A picnic?" Sei echoed, wide-eyed. His expression was full of wonder and glee. "I've never actually been on a picnic before! That sounds wonderful!" Mink noticed he was getting a little too excited and his voice was rising just a little bit too high.

"Home room is a quiet place!" Mr Arnby snapped at them, right on cue. "Keep your voices down. This is your only warning. If I have to ask you again, you can arrange your weekend social gatherings outside in the hallway!"

Mink and Sei both nodded in unison. "Sorry," Sei whispered to Mink, his excitement fizzling like Mr Arnby had put out a flame. His expression was no longer filled with wonder but instead he was hunched over with guilt.

"Don't worry about it," Mink replied reassuringly, keeping his voice equally as low. "Mr Arnby is just an asshole. You know that." But hey, at least Sei had agreed to go on a picnic with him! "We can arrange details and stuff after school when we have more time to talk," he suggested.

"Should I give you my phone number?" Sei wondered out loud. "Would that make it easier?" Mink's mind went totally blank for a brief moment. Receiving Sei's phone number felt like something of a privilege. It was something he never could have asked for on his own.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Mink agreed. "Just write it down for me. We're not supposed to use phones in class," he reminded Sei, who absorbed the information and dutifully took out a small notepad to write the number on. He tore it off and gave it to Mink, who stared at the lovely, bubbly handwriting for a moment. It was hard not to admire Sei's handwriting every time he saw it. "Thanks," he mumbled, folding the small square of paper and putting it safely in his pocket. He'd have to add it to his contacts (and treasure it) later.

So Friday morning was off to a pretty good start too, Mink supposed. Maybe it was something about having Sei around that made him hate school just a little bit less. Now, if only Sei's work ethic would rub off on him. He chuckled to himself. No, he didn't care about that.

The bell for first period rang and Mink double checked his timetable while Sei packed up his desk. The schedule for today wasn't as good as yesterday, but still wasn't that bad. It was all stuff that would be easy enough to sit through. First was French, then Biology, followed by lunch time detention, Modern History and English. Mink had forgotten to do his homework for Modern History during home room, but he figured he could just half-ass rush it during detention and it would be fine.

When he got to his French classroom, it quickly dawned on Mink that this was going to be an annoying lesson today. The desks had been rearranged into a big circle and everybody had different flashcards and objects assigned to them. Apparently it was going to be some sort of vocabulary exercise, which Mink would probably struggle through since he hadn't been keeping up in the textbook and barely paying attention in class. The teacher sat down and gave instructions for everyone to start.

"Come on, Mink, I'm sure you know this one!" the French teacher encouraged, but Mink just shook his head, honestly just giving up. By the end, he'd only gotten about half the words right, which wasn't really good enough, especially compared to the other kids who'd gotten all right but two. It was just lucky this hadn't been a test. Mink wondered if he should actually pick up the textbook at some point so he didn't fail this class. It was surprisingly a lot harder than last semester had been, and this was only the tip of the iceberg, only the first week back.

After French class ended, Mink met up with Sei in Biology, and vaguely listened while the teacher lectured them about how the digestive system works and common diseases associated with it. Sei was, as usual, copying the notes down from the whiteboard and even trying his hardest to copy the diagrams. Mink was amused when he saw that Sei's diagrams were a little wonky compared to the teacher's. Everything on the page was neat except the diagrams. Very unexpected from him.

It was hard for Mink to drift off into a daydream today. He felt really on edge about the weekend. Of course, he was still excited for it, but now that he had a confirmation Sei would be joining him, he was very nervous as well. He was just anxious for the school day to end so they could properly discuss their plans. It was too difficult to daydream in detail when another person was involved because they added so many variables that couldn't be accounted for. Mink knew himself pretty well, so when he daydreamed about things he would do alone he was usually pretty accurate, but he still couldn't predict Sei's reactions to things, so anything he daydreamed about now might not even come into reality.

The bell rang after a while and they headed over to lunch time detention. Once again, Mink sat in his seat restlessly. He tried staring out the window for a little while but found his mind was too busy to relax. Which was probably a lucky thing, because he realised he'd forgotten about his Modern History homework again. He hastily pulled his workbook and textbook out of his bag, ignoring the suspicious look the supervising teacher gave him at the shuffling sounds he was making, and began skimming the text for the answers to the questions. He didn't have the time or energy to properly read it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Sei watching him curiously, but he brushed it aside and tried as hard as possible to focus on getting something down for the questions. It didn't matter if he was wrong as long as he showed some kind of attempt at it, so that was the low standard he was going for. The teacher liked to set a ridiculous number of questions and didn't give them a whole lot of time to do them all, so Mink really had to rush with it now that his time was even more restricted. Some of his answers were only one or two words by the end of it, but he'd stopped caring at that point.

Detention ended and Sei tapped him on the shoulder as they were leaving for their next classes, which for Mink would be Modern History and for Sei would be Community Studies. "What's up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"That was so weird to see you actually doing school work like that," Sei marvelled. Mink turned to stare at him for a moment. The boy was wearing a goofy expression, indicating he was just joking.

"Yeah, it doesn't happen often," Mink scoffed. "I just didn't want to get even more detention added to my sentence next week, you know?" He was already pissed about the extra two days and he wasn't keen to extend that any further. "Oh, by the way, congratulations on finishing your first lot of detention!" He raised his hand in the air, ready for a high-five. Well…that was certainly something he'd never done before. A high-five? Really? How lame was he?

However lame Mink was, apparently Sei was lame enough to match it. He reached out and slapped Mink's hand with his own, completing the high-five and laughing. "Let's hope it's the first and last," he commented. "I don't want to make a habit of this. They didn't send a letter home this time, but if I keep getting detentions, they probably will eventually. Anyway, I'll see you in English."

 _Sei just touched my hand!_ While Sei was saying goodbye and heading to his class, Mink was standing stock still in the hallway and silently freaking out. _I just touched Sei's hand! Our hands just touched!_ It wasn't like their hands had never touched at all before, but this was different. All the other times had just been brushes of the fingertips when passing notes or containers. This time it had been nothing but their hands.

 _Knock it off! It was just a high-five. You're acting like a child,_ Mink reminded himself, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He had to get to class too. If he was late and got detention, he would have completed all of his homework for nothing. He hurried down the hallway, headed towards his classroom when he accidentally bumped into someone, his shoulder slamming into their chest and knocking them over.

"Sorry!" he apologised instantly, holding out a hand to help them to their feet. It took him a second to realise who he was facing. "Mizuki?"

The burgundy headed boy sprawled on the concrete floor was unmistakably Mizuki. He jerked backwards, away from Mink's extended hand. "I don't need your help!" he snapped, clambering to his feet and dusting himself off. "You should watch where you're going. You're too big. You could really hurt someone."

Mink knew it was meant as an insult more than just a plain warning. He narrowed his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind," he replied. "I wouldn't want to hurt anyone now, would I?" If Mizuki was going to push him, Mink was just going to push back. That was the way it had gone down last time.

"Spoken to Sei recently?" Mizuki sneered, clearly intending on making fun of their friendship just because he was sour about it, possibly even jealous.

"Have you?" Mink retorted, knowing full well that Mizuki probably hadn't spoken a word to Sei since Sei had told him he wasn't interested. It would have been a big blow to his pride.

Mizuki just looked furious. _I guess the rejection from Sei is a tender topic for him, hah_. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped back at Mink. "You two deserve each other. You're probably both freaks."

Before Mink realised what he was doing, he had his fists balled in the fabric of Mizuki's shirt and had slammed the boy against the wall, with his feet dangling in the air. At the bus stop, too many people had been around for him to do something like this, but now they were alone. He shoved his face right up close in Mizuki's, his breathing hot and his face set in a scowl. "Don't you dare," he threatened in a low tone. "Say what you want about me, but don't you dare label Sei like that. If I ever hear you talking shit like this again, I will beat your ass into the ground, understand?"

He dropped Mizuki on the ground unceremoniously, not even waiting for an answer. He wouldn't bother to try and help the guy up this time, he just turned his back on him and continued on his way to class. He was definitely late now and he was definitely going to get detention. He may as well not have even done his homework. What a waste of time.

Mink had never really given that much thought to Mizuki before, but now he was sure he hated the guy. He thought about holding a grudge against him for causing Mink's falling out with Sei earlier in the week, but when he thought about it a little bit more, he realised if it wasn't for that, he probably never would have realised how much he valued this new friendship with Sei and they probably wouldn't be as friendly as they were now. So if anything, he probably should have thanked Mizuki for that.

The real reason Mink hated Mizuki was his attitude. He was one of those people who looked down on everyone and thought the world owed him everything. He was one of those people who threw tantrums because he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted. He was one of those people who lacked creativity so he picked on the most obvious, and usually most hurtful, things. He just wasn't a very nice person, and it was a shame.

When Mink knocked on the door to be let into the classroom, he received an immediate reprimanding. He just wanted the day to be over already. "Mink, not only are you late, but I bet you haven't even done the homework!" The Modern History teacher let out an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms over her chest, probably thinking of how many days detention to give for this.

"Actually, I did do the homework," Mink corrected politely, holding out his workbook as evidence. He flipped through the pages to show that he'd done all the questions they'd been set, and hadn't skipped a single one. He hoped this would at least lesson the punishment.

The teacher looked genuinely surprised and pleased, but more surprised than anything. "Oh, really? Ok then," she said. "But you were still late. One day detention for you next week, then." Mink mentally fist pumped. One day was still crappy, but it was the least amount of days he could have been given, so considering the situation it was a win for him. He took his seat without another word.

The first half of the class was spent going through the answers to the homework. Mink hadn't done too badly, but that made sense considering he'd copied a lot of the sentences straight from the textbook. The second half of the class went by in a blur. Mink could hardly keep up with the sheer amount of information being dumped on them. They must have read at least two textbook chapters, and they were expected to do another insane amount of questions for homework. Damn it.

Once they got through all that, it was time for English. Mink and Sei exchanged glances and very brief hellos as they passed each other outside their classrooms. Mink's foot was tapping underneath his desk for just about the entire period, eager to walk out the school gates and discuss the weekend with Sei. Luckily, the class was very easy to get through, unlike Modern History. The English teacher was helping everyone write plot summaries for the play they'd just read – well, the play they were supposed to have read. Apparently, summarising and understanding the plot was the first step in writing their assignment. However, for Mink it would be the first time even touching the play, so he supposed he'd better pay at least some attention.

Finally, the bell rang signalling the end of the day. Everyone was excited to leave, to go home, for the weekend to start. Mink met with Sei outside the classroom and they headed down to the bus zone together, already starting to talk excitedly about the weekend on the way.

Sei proudly held up a steamy plastic container, like he was presenting Mink with his firstborn child. "I made bread!" he announced, beaming. "It's the first time I've ever made bread, but I think it turned out pretty well! I was thinking maybe I could bring it on the weekend, if you'd like."

Mink nodded in agreement. It was difficult to see through the steam, but Sei's bread looked like it had risen pretty well and knowing Sei's baking skills, it probably tasted really good. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea," he replied. "I've got some really nice homemade plum jam that would probably go really well with it."

"You made jam!" Sei exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement and admiration. If he hadn't been holding his container of bread, Mink could imagine him clasping his hands together in front of himself. "That's so amazing! You'll have to show me how to make jam one day! I've always wanted to make jam but it looks hard."

As with every time Sei complimented him, Mink felt a blush spreading across his cheeks. "It was just something I was messing around with the other week," he said, trying to be humble about it. "I'm not even sure if it's that good. You can probably buy better from the supermarket." That part was a lie. Mink knew his jam was actually really good, he just didn't want to brag about it.

"I'm sure your jam is good!" Sei reassured him. _Damn it, now it looks like I was fishing for compliments!_ "You'll definitely have to show me some time," he repeated. "So what else do you want me to bring?" He seemed like he was entirely relying on Mink for the provisions list, since he'd apparently never been on a picnic before.

That was a good question. What did Mink usually like to take on picnics? He started listing things in his head, but then realised it would probably be more productive to list them out loud instead. "Stone fruit, bread, jam… Maybe you could bring salad?" he suggested. "I've got a nice picnic blanket and I can bring fruit and drinks."

Sei bobbed his head up and down along with the list. "Ok, that should be pretty easy," he agreed. "I can make a salad on Sunday morning so it will be fresh for the picnic. I'll try to bake more cookies at some point too. Is it ok if they're the same as the last ones?"

It was as if Mink's prayers had been answered. When his father had eaten his precious cookies, he had avoided mentioning it to Sei. He'd seriously regretted not being able to try them, and had been trying to figure out a way to ask for more. But here Sei had solved all of his problems by offering first. Truly, Sei was an angel on earth. He had the attitude and the beauty to suit.

"That would be perfect," Mink said quickly, giving Sei a small smile. Finally, he would get to try those cookies he'd missed out on. This was going to be a good weekend.


	6. Saturday

Mink's Saturday morning had flown by pretty quickly. He'd finished reading the herb book and decided on what he wanted in his garden: basil, mint, chives, lemongrass, parsley and thyme. It would all be pretty easy to get his hands on; he'd just have to go for a walk down to the garden store in town. He'd also looked up a couple of tutorials online, trying to research the best way to go about building a garden box. From what he'd read, he had all the necessary materials to build it in a couple of hours.

He'd also been texting back and forth with Sei, which was a nice development. Both of them were very excited for the picnic the following afternoon. They'd decided to meet in town and catch the bus together to get to the park in the afternoon, so that would mean Sei wouldn't get lost trying to find his way alone. Every time Mink's phone buzzed to alert him of a new message, he was ashamed to admit his heart fluttered with excitement. It was unfair how much affect Sei still had on him. He really hoped the picnic would go well.

Mid-afternoon, Mink locked up the house and went for a walk to the garden store. It wasn't very far to walk, but the sun was beating down hard, so it made for a sweaty walk. He had to constantly keep wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, and by the time he reached the store, he was a little out of breath. But he wasn't going to complain about the weather, since it was thanks to this kind of weather that the picnic would be possible. He was just grateful the rain had stopped.

Inside the store, in the air conditioning, Mink tapped his chin, debating about whether he should buy seeds and plant them himself or buy cuttings and re-plant them. Browsing the shelves and looking at the variety of herbs, he tried to recall what he'd read in the herb book. Apparently, it was equally as easy to grow herbs from seeds or cuttings, so whichever he picked wouldn't really matter. It would just come down to price, and it turned out the seeds were cheaper, so that was what Mink settled on. He went to the counter with his handful of seed packets, and he paid in cash, eager to get home and start construction of the garden box so he could actually plant them.

The walk home wasn't any easier than the walk there had been. The sun was just as aggressive, causing Mink to sweat excessively. He could feel the sweat trickling down his lower back and legs as he walked, and he wanted nothing more than to shower as soon as he got home, but he realised that would be pointless considering he still had to be outside in the sun while he built the garden box. It would have to wait until afterwards then. As he walked home, he kept envisioning what the garden box would look like once completed, with all the herbs sprouting and ready to use for cooking. That would make all the sweat and hard labour worth it.

When Mink arrived home, he unlatched the back door and dumped his seed packets on the rusty metal table, then went back inside and poured himself a cold glass of water, trying to rehydrate after losing so much fluid through sweat. He guzzled down the water, wiped his upper lip with the back of his hand, and returned outside, clapping his hands together and psyching himself up. He raided the small shed for materials, making multiple trips to bring out the timber, cutting table, saw, nails, hammer, tarp and various measuring tools. Unfortunately they didn't own any electric tools, like a drill or a power saw, otherwise this would have been much easier for Mink. He looked down at the amount of timber he had to cut and he knew he was going to feel it in his muscles later.

He began measuring all the pieces of timber and marking with pencil where he needed to cut, which ends would be joined together to form a box, and which pieces would be cut to form the supports. He had four smaller supports for the corners, which he would nail the longer planks to and form a small rectangular box. He would also line the bottom with the tarp as a weed barrier, and then pour the potting mix in. He set up the rickety cutting table and began to saw the wood, double checking his measurements as he went. The saw he was using was old and not in the best shape, but Mink persevered and got through it. He really needed to invest in some new tools, but he didn't use them every day so he didn't really see the point at the moment.

Once the wood was all cut, he measured out the space in the garden and dug four small holes with the shovel, implanting the support beams a couple of inches into the ground. He stood back and measured again, making sure the box would be an even shape before he nailed the other planks together. Then he picked up the hammer and nailed the longer planks to the sides of the support beams, which settled nicely in the inner corners of the box. _Not bad,_ Mink thought, admiring his work. It definitely looked like a good garden box.

Following the plan, he spread out the tarp and retrieved a couple of bags of potting mix from the shed, tearing them open and dumping them in, then spreading the dirt out with his shovel. It had only taken him a couple of hours, which was exactly what he'd expected. The garden box was complete and the only thing left to do was divide up sections to plant the seeds in. Mink walked over to the table and tore open the seed packets, following the instructions on the back for how to plant them properly.

"Now it's time to shower," Mink mumbled to himself, giving his new garden box and soon-to-be herb garden one more long admiring look. He was pretty proud of his work. It had turned out a lot better than he expected it to, and he couldn't wait for the garden to start sprouting.

Heading back inside and upstairs, Mink shed himself of his sweaty, dirt-stained clothes and scrubbed the dirt from his skin under the hot water of the shower. He lathered up his body with soap and massaged shampoo into his hair, making sure to remove every trace of dirt and grime from his body. It had been a long day and he'd worked hard, so it took him a while. He even made sure to clean all the dirt from underneath his fingernails.

Stepping out of the shower, Mink wrapped himself in a fluffy white towel and looked at himself in the mirror. He wiped the foggy mirror with one of his hands, clearing up a small circular window. He had dark bags under his eyes and he looked more tired than usual, probably from the stress of the first week back at school. Coupled with the harsh shape of his face and cheekbones, this tiredness seemed to age him somewhat. He definitely looked too big and too old to be a high-schooler sometimes. Shaking his head to himself, he combed his hair out and exited the bathroom. That was enough staring at himself for one day.

Pulling on clean clothes, he went back downstairs to check his phone, wondering if he should take a photo of his garden box to show Sei. He did feel oddly proud of it, prouder than he'd ever felt of anything he'd done before, and he couldn't put his finger on why that was. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd ever made anything. Maybe it was because he had someone like Sei who would appreciate what he did and be impressed by it, unlike his parents. If you had someone to show your work who would be proud of you, Mink supposed it kind of made your prouder of yourself too. It was a nice feeling, for a change.

Mink picked up his phone and realised he already had several unread messaged from Sei, who was apparently worried about him because he hadn't responded in such a long time. Mink chuckled to himself. _Sei really is precious, isn't he?_ Mink thought as he typed his reply, explaining that he'd been busy building in the garden. He went outside and quickly snapped a photo of the garden box to send to Sei as proof.

Sei immediately replied with another text which read, _"Wow, Mink, that is incredible! I can't believe you made that! It looks like you paid a professional builder!"_ Mink laughed out loud, unable to help himself. As if he would ever pay a builder to make something he could make just as easily himself. Sei was kind of silly, but then again maybe Sei wouldn't be able to make something like this so he'd have to pay someone to do it for him. Mink supposed everyone had different abilities. For himself, he decided if he ever wanted to give someone a cake again, he'd just buy one.

The end of the day was rolling in, so Mink sat on the couch to unwind, turning the TV to something mindless in the background while he propped his feet up on the coffee table and continued to text back and forth with Sei. He'd never had anyone he could text before. The only people he had in his contacts apart from Sei were his parents and the real estate agent, and even then he hardly ever contacted his parents unless he needed to remind them to pay rent or pick milk up on their way home from work.

He listened intently as Sei told him how his day had been, and with each message they exchanged, Mink could feel this wasn't doing anything to help his crush on Sei. Even through messages on a phone screen, the kid was too damn cute. Mink could imagine him curled up on his bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets and maybe even some plush toys. He kept finding himself wanting to know more and more about this beautiful boy. He wanted to talk about things they hadn't had the chance to talk about at school. What kind of music did he like? What was his favourite soft drink? How did he get so into baking? What did he like eating for breakfast?

 _"_ _I'll be back,"_ Mink texted suddenly, putting his phone down on the coffee table and walking directly into the kitchen. He turned the taps on and splashed his face with cold water. On one hand, he really wanted to snap out of this. He really wanted to get over these feelings because he knew they would never be reciprocated and he wanted to just be friends with Sei. He didn't want to ruin anything between them or make Sei uncomfortable. But on the other hand, it was really nice to feel something like this. Mink had never really cared about anyone like this before, and it made him feel more human to finally experience it. It was a tricky situation.

Mink decided instead of going straight back to his phone, he would make an early dinner. He flipped through a couple of cook books looking for inspiration, and stopped on a page for basil pesto pasta. That sounded pretty nice and Mink was pretty sure they had everything they needed. He opened up the cupboards to check how much pasta they had left and was surprised to see a box of name brand choc chip cookies with a post-it note stuck to it.

 _"_ _Sorry I ate your cookies, Mink,"_ it read in his Dad's awful handwriting. _"Didn't realise they were important. Hope this makes up."_ Somehow, against all odds, Mink's mother had actually remembered to pass on a message for once in her life. Mink still hadn't had the chance to talk to his father himself yet, and there was no way his Dad would have realised his mistake on his own, so that was the only explanation for it. And amazingly, his Dad had made an attempt at an apology. It didn't exactly make up for it, but it was a step in the right direction at least.

Getting out a large pot, Mink filled it halfway with water and set it on the stove to boil for the pasta. He then set about preparing the ingredients for the sauce. He used basil from a tube in the fridge, but it would have tasted so much better with fresh, home-grown basil. _Oh well,_ he thought. _It won't be long to wait before I have my own basil to use._ He was originally only going to make enough to just feed himself, but he'd had a change of heart and decided to make extra for when his parents got home. They usually stole his leftovers anyway, so it didn't make much difference to him either way. When he was done cooking, he served a bowl for himself and put the rest in the fridge with a note for his parents that said, _"You're allowed to eat this this time."_

Sitting back on the couch with his bowl of pasta, Mink flipped through the TV channels, purposely avoiding checking his phone for any new messages from Sei. Part of him was desperate to check and respond immediately, not wanting to keep Sei waiting or make him worried. The other part of him wanted to relax and forget for just a moment that he had that stupid god-damn crush on Sei.

But it was impossible to simply forget. Even while watching TV and eating, Sei was in the back of Mink's mind. He was wondering what Sei was watching on TV and what he was eating for dinner. Before he knew it, Mink had wasted a couple of hours watching trashy sitcom reruns, and he practically dived for his phone. He had several new messages from Sei, who said he assumed Mink was eating dinner and he hoped he enjoyed it. The last message said Sei was going to bed, and he looked forward to seeing Mink tomorrow.

 _Damn it, he went to bed and I didn't even get to say goodnight,_ Mink thought, frustrated at himself. _If I hadn't been so stubborn and determined to ignore my phone, this wouldn't have happened. Ugh, why do I care so much? Why can't I make it stop?_

Mink put his phone in his pocket and took his empty bowl to the kitchen, washing it up with the rest of the dishes. With nothing better to do now, he guessed he'd follow Sei's suit and have an early night as well. The sooner he went to bed, the sooner tomorrow would arrive, after all.


	7. Sunday

Mink woke up still feeling conflicted about Sei. It even crossed his mind that maybe he should cancel the picnic today. Didn't a picnic seem…a little too romantic? It would probably only just encourage Mink's feelings even more, and he certainly didn't need that. He lay in bed staring up at the ceiling for a long while, his thoughts racing around in his head. No, he couldn't cancel with such little notice. If someone did that to him, he'd be really pissed off, so it was unfair to do that to someone else. Not to mention, he didn't want to cancel and be responsible for breaking Sei's fragile little heart.

Grumbling as he finally got out of bed, Mink pulled on some jeans, leaving his chest bare for now as he wandered around the house. He went downstairs to the kitchen, his thoughts drumming in time with his footsteps on the stairs. He'd said it to himself about a million times now. He just needed to accept the fact that he had feelings for Sei. Fighting it only made him feel worse about it. It wasn't such a bad thing to have, was it?

While pouring milk into his bowl of cereal, Mink checked his phone to see Sei had sent him a text a couple of hours ago. Obviously, Sei had woken up and actually gotten out of bed a lot sooner than Mink had. The message said, " _Really excited for this afternoon! Baking cookies now!"_ and came with an attached photo.

Mink's heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he opened the attachment. It was a selfie! Sei had sent him a selfie! Oh god, he was adorable. The lighting was perfect and bounced off Sei's soft skin and soft cheekbones. He was smiling at the camera, showing his perfect white teeth, and his raven hair framed his face perfectly to make his dark eyes pop beautifully. The photo was angled so Mink could just see a tray of cookies sitting on the bench behind him. _Why, why why? Tell me, why did Sei have to send me this? This isn't helping one bit. I think I might be in love with this boy. He's so pure._

Did Mink even know what love was? That was a good question. He'd never experienced it before, but he figured if it was as strong and powerful as everyone said, he'd know it when he felt it. He wasn't sure if he actually loved Sei or if that was an overreaction. There was still a lot he didn't know about the boy. But he was certain he had a very strong crush on him, at the very least.

And it made his heart ache. He tried to deny it, but he really wanted to be more than just friends with Sei. He tried to tell himself that he was ok if Sei just wanted to be friends, but it was hard. He really liked Sei. He didn't want to be one of those guys who complained about being stuck in the "friend-zone," but he just wanted a clear answer to be certain either way. If he had a chance with Sei, that was good. He wouldn't try to suppress his feelings anymore. If he didn't have a chance with Sei, which was more likely, he would try his hardest to make sure his feelings didn't get in the way of their friendship. He was sure, even if no romantic feelings were involved, they had the potential to be great friends, and he didn't want to let that slip through his fingers just because he was preoccupied with his crush.

Now there was another matter to deal with. How should Mink respond to Sei's text? Would a compliment on his appearance sound too weird? Should he send a selfie back? He'd give it a try, anyway. _"You look nice today,"_ he sent, keeping it simple. He quickly took a selfie, trying not to look angry in it, and sent a follow up message. _"I don't."_

 _"_ _Why aren't you wearing a shirt!"_ Sei replied. _"Get dressed, Mink!" Shit, oh shit, oh shit._ Mink hadn't even realised he still hadn't put a shirt on yet. The selfie he sent must have looked so weird. _Oh man, I hope Sei doesn't get the wrong idea,_ Mink thought, internally freaking out a little bit.

Without replying, mostly because he was stunned into silence with his own stupidity, Mink hurriedly ate the bowl of cereal while standing in the kitchen, and then rushed upstairs to put a shirt on. He took a better photo and sent it to Sei, asking _"Does this look better?" Sending selfies is a weird experience,_ Mink thought to himself. _Why do people do it? Don't people usually do it only if they're really close friends or interested in each other? Sei and I aren't that close yet, I don't think so…_

For the first time, Mink addressed the possibility that Sei was interested in him too. _No, that can't be right. Why would he be?_

Sei responded with another photo of himself, showing him a little blurry, but laughing and cheerful. _"You look very handsome, Mink. See you at the bus stop soon."_ What kind of compliment was that? What was Mink supposed to take from that? It didn't exactly sound neutral like Mink had tried to sound. Mink scratched his head, feeling really confused. What if Sei really did like him? He couldn't even begin to entertain that idea. He'd spent the last few days convincing himself that he had no chance with Sei, it was so difficult to contemplate anything else, and he didn't want to get him hopes up.

He checked the time and realised he'd slept in longer than he'd intended to. He'd have to get going soon, so he figured he should start preparing the picnic stuff now while he still had time. He went upstairs and retrieved the picnic blanket from the top of the linen cupboard, and folded it up as small as possible to put in his bag. Even though he went on picnics often, he didn't own an actual picnic basket. He thought they were…kind of lame. He was just planning on taking his backpack and a cooler bag. He packed the jam and stone fruit carefully into his bag and ran through the list of other things he needed to bring. There were a couple of bottles of soft drink in the bottom shelf of the fridge door, so he took them and put them in the cooler bag. He also found some seldom-used plastic cups in the cupboard and he was sure no one would notice if they went missing for the day. He was pretty sure that was about all he needed. Sei was bringing everything else.

Mink picked up his two bags and headed out the door, unsure of whether his parents were actually home or not, but he locked the door on his way out just in case. He walked at a steady pace, with no need to rush since the bus stop was even closer to his house than the garden store was. He'd get there with plenty of time, then he and Sei would catch the bus to the park. Truthfully, he probably could have walked to the park, but it was a little hot for that and he didn't want Sei to get lost without him. He was thankful, however, that the weather had stayed clear for today.

"Hey, Mink!" Sei greeted him enthusiastically as he approached the bus stop, waving a hand in the air like he was trying to get Mink's attention in a crowd. He was the only one waiting there though. Mink quickly looked Sei up and down. The boy was dressed slightly differently from how he dressed at school. His loose clothes had a more feminine feel to them, and he was wearing dark sunglasses and a sunhat with a big, floppy brim. It suited him.

"Hey," Mink replied, standing next to Sei under the shade of the bus shelter. "You look…really nice today…" Just then, Mink noticed what Sei had looped around one arm, a picnic basket. He smiled, slightly amused. Of course Sei would be the type.

"Of course!" Sei beamed. "I had to get dressed up for our picnic! Ah, I guess, you may have noticed… These aren't the type of clothes I wear every day. The truth is, I really like dressing like this, but I don't want to wear this to school because I'm worried about what people might think."

Mink nodded wisely. "I completely understand," he said, sighing. "It's a shame, but kids are assholes." He looked Sei up and down once more, noticing that along with the clothing change, Sei seemed to have gained a boost of self-confidence. "You really do look good," Mink repeated.

"Thank you!" Sei said, smiling widely. "Oh, my cookies turned out really well this morning!" He moved his arm to gesture to the picnic basket, which contained the cookies. Mink grinned in response, incredibly happy that he would finally get the chance to try those cookies. "They're probably even better than last time," Sei continued, "since I wasn't really familiar with the oven in the school kitchen when I cooked them and I think I got the temperature a bit wrong. But I'm really good at cooking with the oven in our new house!"

"I'm sure whatever you bake, even at your worst, would be far better than my sad attempt at baking a cake," Mink joked, still smiling. _Man, my face is going to hurt by the end of the day if the kid keeps making me smile so wide like this. I'm just not used to it_.

"That is…true," Sei said, finally admitting the truth that Mink's baking had been terrible. He let out a laugh, which took Mink's breath away. It wasn't like the time he'd been overcome with laughter and doubled over in tears. It was much softer, much more like a soft trill or some sweet melody. Sei's laugh convinced Mink even further that the boy was secretly an angel sent down from Heaven.

"So what time is the bus coming?" Mink asked, glancing over at the timetable. The font was way too tiny to read from where he was standing, but he assumed Sei had already checked it while he was waiting.

"We have about five minutes," Sei announced, confirming what Mink had assumed and making him smile to himself. "So it's too late to back out," Sei added teasingly. Mink panicked for a split second, thinking somehow Sei had managed to read his thoughts from earlier that morning.

"What? Why would I do that?" Mink replied, laughing a little nervously. "I wouldn't do that. Why would I?" He was aware accidentally repeating himself had probably made him look suspicious and stupid, but it had slipped out before he'd had a chance to filter his thoughts. Sei tilted his head, lowering his sunglasses and looking at Mink over the top of them. Mink swallowed hard and avoided eye contact. Sei just laughed at him again.

"You're acting really nervous and tense," the pale boy pointed out, nudging Mink with his elbow. "Lighten up. We're not at school so you can relax now." Mink nodded. Sei was right. He was being anxious over nothing. If Mink was being honest with himself, it was just really hard to completely relax around Sei, especially when they boy looked this good.

Mink fell into silence for a while. For him, it was an uncomfortable silence. He was wrestling with his thoughts, trying his hardest to relax. Although the effort of trying to relax was a paradox in itself. But he knew if he was tense all day, it wouldn't make for a very fun picnic. He glanced at Sei, who didn't look uncomfortable at all. That was a good sign.

"Hey, there's the bus!" Sei exclaimed, looking out at the road. Mink followed his gaze. "It's early!" He switched his picnic basket between arms, and raised a hand to hail the bus, which indicated briefly and smoothly pulled over to the kerb for them. Sei got on first, paying for his fare with the exact right amount of coins, and Mink followed, trying desperately not to stare at Sei's ass in front of him.

Mink didn't catch the bus often since he liked walking everywhere, but it looked like the bus company was using school buses for the public routes on weekends. The outside of the bus was relatively clean, but as he stepped on, he noticed the inside was incredibly dirty. He paid for his fare and followed Sei to a seat roughly halfway down the bus, trying not to step on the rubbish that was gathered in the aisle, and trying to ignore the various rude graffiti scratched into the windows. It was definitely a school bus; that was for sure.

"Do you know where we need to get off?" Sei asked politely, setting the picnic basket securely on the seat beside him. Mink had claimed the seat in front of him, since he didn't want to crowd Sei with his bulky frame.

"Not exactly," Mink confessed. "I've never caught the bus to the park before. But the park is pretty recognisable, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where we need to get off. It's not too far from here." As the bus pulled back into traffic, Mink wriggled his backpack off his shoulders and set it and the cooler bag on the floor between his knees. He twisted his body and leant an arm against the seat so he could continue his conversation while facing Sei.

"That's ok," Sei said cheerfully. "No problem. Just let me know when I should press the stop button." He gave Mink a soft smile. Mink was relieved. Most people, when they found out their supposed guide didn't actually know the way, would be annoyed, but Sei just seemed to take it in his stride. "So you usually walk to the park then? Isn't it far?"

Mink shook his head. "It's not too far," he answered. "If you like long walks, I mean. I just thought the weather was too hot for it today." Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the scenery go by out the window, keeping an eye out for any landmarks that would indicate they were drawing closer to the park.

"It is pretty hot today," Sei agreed. "But I think it's good weather for a picnic. It looks like it'll be a really nice afternoon, so we don't have to worry about being rained on." He was right. There were no dark, ominous clouds looming on the horizon, and even the weather report this morning had confirmed it shouldn't rain again for at least another couple of days.

Suddenly, Mink noticed the bright blue sign of the fishing store that was located the block before the park. "Press the button now," he told Sei. He was unsure of when exactly the bus would stop, but he was sure it would be close enough. Best case scenario would be somewhere opposite the park. Worst case scenario would be a block away, which wouldn't really be that bad.

Sei did as he was told and immediately pressed the button, alerting the driver that they wanted to get off at the next available stop. Another block went past, and Mink could see the gate to the park on the right. The bus swerved off the road and pulled over at the kerb, luckily directly opposite the entrance to the park. Mink and Sei both gathered their belongings and stood up in unison, and Mink waited for Sei to exit the bus first.

"Thank you!" Sei called out politely to the driver as he stepped off the bus. Mink followed suit, but didn't call anything out. With their feet safely on the concrete footpath, they waited for the bus to drive away before they crossed the road. "You were right, Mink. It was pretty close," Sei commented, a smile in his tone as they crossed the road brusquely, side by side.

They passed through the tall black gates, and followed the stone path through the bushes. It was a really lovely park. Very spacious, full of grassy hills, rows of bushes and clusters of trees, and multiple barbeques and picnic benches. "Where do you want to sit?" Mink asked, as the path lead them past the barbeque area. There was a family seated at one of the benches, the children talking loudly and impatiently waiting for their father to cook their food.

"Not here," Sei whispered, giggling a little. "What about in the shade somewhere?" he suggested. Mink nodded in agreement. He usually didn't like to sit at the tables and benches, but preferred to find his own spot hidden away from the other people, and he was glad Sei felt the same.

"This way," he said, motioning for Sei to follow him. He veered off the stone path and cut through the bushes, emerging into one of the clear areas. There was a nice group of trees perched by a hill, casting the perfect shadow for them to relax under. "Over here," he said, headed for the spot.

Before they sat down, Mink pulled the red and white blanket out of his bag and spread it out on the grass. He tried to pick the part of the ground that was still in the shade, but not far enough up the hill for the ground to slope and make things difficult. He sat down on the blanket without waiting for Sei, and began pulling the jam and fruit out of his bag. Not a bad spot.

"Want a drink?" he asked Sei, who was just sitting down opposite him. He unzipped the cooler bag and pulled out the soft drink bottles, to show Sei what options he had. Lemonade and fizzy passionfruit. If Mink had bought them himself, he probably would have chosen something else over passionfruit, but he guessed it was better than nothing.

"Um, passionfruit, please," Sei replied, crossing his legs and opening up his picnic basket. _Well, at least Sei likes it_ , Mink thought, separating the plastic cups and opening the bottle to pour Sei a cup. "Thank you," Sei said as he accepted the cup. He took a sip and immediately blinked very rapidly for a second. "The bubbles," he explained in response to Mink's expression.

"Right," Mink said, chuckling. He poured himself a cup of lemonade and took a sip, but he didn't have the same reaction as Sei. He was stronger. He chuckled again lightly, watching Sei carefully place the cup down beside him on the blanket as he started to pull things out of the picnic basket. Out came the bread, the cookies and the salad. It all looked really delicious. Mink was excited to try whatever salad Sei had decided to make.

"Let's dig in!" Sei exclaimed, clapping his hands together. From the bottom of the picnic basket, he handed Mink a knife and fork and a plate, and he opened the bread container, cutting off a thick slice. "May I try your jam?" he asked, his hand hovering just above the jar of jam, waiting for permission in case Mink wanted to use it first.

"Of course," Mink said, blinking for a second. Sei was awfully formal and polite when asking for things sometimes. "Go for it. Grab anything you like. Don't hold back." He himself reached across the blanket and took some salad from the container, dumping it on his plate. He stuck his fork into it and shovelled some into his mouth. "Nice salad," he commented with his mouth full.

It was the third time Mink had had the chance to eat lunch with Sei. The first two times had been in the detention room, so he wasn't sure if they really counted. But either way, Mink was more than happy to be eating lunch with Sei in a setting outside of school, somewhere he could relax. They both munched on their food in silence for a while. Mink finished his plate of salad and reach over again, cutting himself a slice of bread to try with his jam.

"Really good bread, too," he complimented. The bread really did taste as good as it looked. He was right about Sei having some kind of magical baking ability where everything he baked somehow turned out good even if he made mistakes. Not to mention, the flavour and fluffiness of the bread went really well with his plum jam.

"Thank you," Sei said, tipping some salad onto his plate now. "Oh, yeah! I was so busy eating, I almost forgot to tell you. Your jam is really delicious, Mink! It's kind of like… I could imagine a little old lady making homemade jam to sell at the markets or something like that."

Mink laughed, swallowing quickly and carefully so he wouldn't choke on his mouthful. "Was that supposed to be a compliment, or are you calling me an old lady?" he teased. Sei looked flustered at this and almost spilt the entire bowl of salad all over his plate and the blanket, but caught it at the last minute.

"No, no!" he said quickly. "You're definitely not an old lady! I didn't mean it like that!" He put the salad bowl back down gently and started eating from his own plate. "Do you want to have some cookies?" he asked, noticing Mink had finished his bread now too.

"Sure," Mink replied, hardly able to contain his excitement. The time had come. The moment was finally here. He could finally try those precious cookies Sei had made for him. He snatched up the container like a ravenous wolf, eagerly pulling the lid off and revealing the sweet cookies inside. He picked up the biggest, roundest one he could see and took a bite.

So much better than his first bite had been. He'd been upset at the time so he hadn't been able to taste anything, but now it was like a sweet explosion inside his mouth. The cookies had the perfect amount of crunch on the outside and crumble on the inside. A lot of people thought sugar cookies were boring and plain, but Mink thought Sei had put the perfect amount of flavour and effort into them. They were definitely worth the wait.

"Amazing," Mink commented, cramming the rest of the cookie into his mouth. _Damn, I was supposed to savour that. Oh well, I'll eat the next one slower._ He grabbed another one and began nibbling on it carefully, but then ended up doing the exact same thing. They were just too tasty to eat slowly.

Sei laughed at him. "I'm really glad you like them," he said. "I told you they'd be better than the first batch, right?" Mink froze for a moment. With his mouth full of cookie, he just nodded silently in agreement. He hadn't even eaten the first batch so he had nothing to compare to, so he just went with it.

They both finished eating and packed everything away except the cookies, which Mink was still snacking on, and the drinks. Mink refilled both their glasses and they sat there peacefully in the shade of the trees, enjoying the breeze and the calmness in the air.

"That was a really nice lunch," Sei reflected, leaning back on the blanket with his arms supporting his body. His shirt rode up a little bit and revealed a strip of white skin at his stomach. Mink's heart leapt a little bit. His skin looked so soft and Mink just wanted to trace lazy circles on it with his fingertips so bad. But he had to resist.

"What? Yeah, it was nice," Mink agreed, a little distracted. He had to turn away for a moment, and turned his eyes to the sky. It was a pure, perfect blue today, with fluffy white clouds littered about the place. He shifted his legs into a more comfortable position, and tried to pick shapes in the clouds. It was difficult, since they were all so big and clumped in weird shapes. But he thought he saw a cloud very vaguely shaped like Sei's floppy hat. "Look," he said, pointing to it.

Sei followed the direction of his finger, and spotted the lazily drifting cloud. "I don't get it. What is it?" he asked, squinting. He lifted his sunglasses up to try and see properly. "A UFO?"

Mink laughed at him. "No, don't be stupid," he said. "It's your hat. You've gotta tilt your head to see it." He demonstrated with the way his own head was tilted, and watched in amusement as Sei copied.

"Oh yeah…" Sei said slowly. "I guess it could be. I don't really see it though." _Wow, who would have guessed Sei was terrible at cloud watching?_ Mink would have thought they boy's creative nature would have meant he'd be good at something like this, but this only made it more hilarious for Mink. A soft silence enveloped them as they stared up at the clouds for a while. Every now and then, Mink would point out a shape like a dog or a car or the Eiffel Tower, and Sei would squint and try his hardest, but wouldn't be able to see it. Instead, the pale boy would point out obscure shapes like the Loch Ness Monster or a basketball.

It was pretty much the perfect picnic that Mink had envisioned on his first day of school, except instead of skipping school to go alone, Mink was hanging out with Sei on the weekend, which made it somehow even better. They'd enjoyed a satisfying lunch and they seemed to be having fun watching the clouds. The sun was moving slowly in the sky and the shadows from the trees were slowly disappearing around them. They'd have to move or leave soon, otherwise they'd find themselves sitting in the afternoon sunlight.

"Hey…Sei?" Mink said softly, trying to get Sei's attention. It was something that had been bothering him for a while. He'd wanted to ask sooner but he hadn't really had the opportunity, and he knew it would be a difficult thing to bring up. He figured it was now or never, and he was really hoping this decision wouldn't ruin the entire picnic.

"What's up, Mink?" Sei replied, looking over at him. He'd heard Mink's tone of voice and his face held a concerned expression, but he didn't pry any further, and just gave Mink time to speak for himself.

"Well, it's about…when we were fighting," Mink said slowly. He sucked in a deep breath. "Remember how you said I'm mean but not that mean? I asked you about it before, but you didn't really explain what you meant by it. And…it's been kind of bothering me…"

"Oh, that," Sei said sadly. "I regret saying that. I don't really know what I was thinking, but I shouldn't have said it without thinking."

"But what did you mean by it?" Mink pressed. "You think I'm mean?"

Sei shook his head. "No, I don't think you're mean, Mink," he explained. "When I first met you, I thought you were a nice guy who presented himself as mean. You did act mean and say some kind of mean things sometimes, but I thought you were nice under all that. When you said you didn't care about me… I thought that was the meanest thing of all, but I didn't really believe you meant it. That's why I said, you're not that mean. But then the next time you asked me about it, when I said something like I wasn't sure if I really thought you were mean or not, I think I just said that because I was confused and unsure of myself. I wasn't sure if I could forgive you right away and I just needed more time."

Mink nodded in understanding. "So…you don't really think I'm mean?" he shyly asked again for clear confirmation.

Sei laughed a little bit, a relieved kind of laugh. "No, I don't think you're a mean person," he clarified. "I just think you do mean things without realising it sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Mink agreed quietly. "I'm glad we could clear that up. I mean, we'd resolved things, but it felt like we'd never really resolved things because we skipped a step, you know?"

"I think I know what you mean," Sei said. Mink was glad they were on the same page. He felt like a weight had finally been lifted from his chest. He was incredibly relieved to know that Sei didn't actually think badly of him, and he was glad they had finally had this conversation.

They fell into silence for a little while again. The breeze had died down and the air was warmer than before. The edge of the shadow was just touching one corner of the picnic blanket, and Mink was sure in about 10 more minutes, they'd only have half a shadow covering them. It would be a shame to leave so soon. He hoped he'd get the chance to hang out with Sei like this again sometime, without the pressure of people watching them at school. He opened his mouth to ask if Sei was ready to leave, but his mind was elsewhere and something else came out instead.

"I was wondering if…" he started, unable to stop himself. "Maybe, uh, you might want to go on a date? W-with me?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, Mink froze in panic. _Oh no, that wasn't part of the plan_ , he thought to himself. _What do I do? I can't just take it back_. He was sure the panic must have been plain on his face too. _Oh no, no, no_. It was way too soon to ask something like this. They'd only just patched up their friendship properly after all, and Mink had absolutely no signs that Sei even liked him back, except for the selfies in the morning, but that could have meant anything. Mink's thoughts were jumbled and frantic, so much so that he almost missed Sei's reply entirely.

"I thought this was already a date," Sei said softly, his cheeks turning crimson. Luckily, he could hide behind his dark sunglasses. But from the set of his mouth, and the posture of his body, Mink could tell the boy was suddenly just as awkward and embarrassed and nervous as he was.

But… Did that mean Sei wanted to go on a date with him? If he'd thought this was a date and he'd agreed to it? Did that mean Sei liked him? _What? What was happening? Huh? How?_ "I'm confused," Mink confessed. "In your note in Art History, you said you wanted to be friends…"

"So did you!" Sei retorted, laughing. "I thought that was just the right thing to say! But Mink, I…really do like you. I wouldn't have agreed to come on this picnic if I didn't like you. Do you think it's a little too romantic for just friends?" _Damn, I knew it._

Mink was at a loss for words. It was almost unbelievable. Sei had just confirmed that he liked him back. What was he supposed to say now? Do you thank people in a situation like this?

"Do you want to eat lunch with me next week?" Sei offered, once again proving himself to be a saving grace. He still seemed a little nervous and on edge, but he had clearly recovered enough to continue the conversation. "Lunch at school, I mean. And then maybe we could see a movie or something on the weekend, if you're not sick of me by then."

Mink laughed out loud. The idea of getting sick of Sei was incredibly far-fetched. "I still have three days of detention, but after that, sure. I'd love to," he replied, smiling. He started to pack away the drinks and the cookies, indicating that it was probably time for them to get going. Sei stood up too, to help him fold up the blanket.

"Three days?" he asked in an incredulous voice, slightly wide-eyed. "What else did you do?" He held the corners of the blanket and brought them together in front of his chest, then handing them to Mink to finish and pack inside his bag.

"I was late to Modern History," Mink explained. "I was on my way there, but I ran into…" He trailed off. Now wasn't really the time where he wanted to bring Mizuki up. "You know what? Never mind. It doesn't matter." Sei looked a little suspicious but didn't ask for any more details, and Mink was grateful for that.

Speaking of Mizuki though, Mink mentally smirked. It felt kind of nice to actually have something that Mizuki didn't have – Sei's interest. He kind of wanted to rub it in his face, but he also didn't want to announce anything to the whole school. He and Sei were getting enough attention and weird stares as it was. This would just have to be their secret for now, if it did develop into anything more.

With all their stuff packed safely into their bags, they walked back to the stone path and followed it to the gate to leave the park. "This is a really nice place," Sei commented. "Thank you for bringing me here, Mink."

"Oh, uh, you're welcome," Mink replied. "Thank you…for coming with me." The bus stop they'd gotten off at was on the other side of the road, so if they got on a bus there, they'd be heading in the wrong direction. They had to look for a bus stop on their own side of the road, but there was no obvious one in sight, so they started walking further down, headed towards the group of shops they'd passed earlier only a block away.

"We could just walk back into town," Sei suggested. "We're already kind of walking that way." Mink thought about it for a moment. Walking back would take a lot longer than riding the bus, so it would give him more time to spend with Sei. But it was still pretty hot and he didn't want to make Sei suffer from walking in the heat. He couldn't be greedy like that.

"Let's just catch the bus," Mink said firmly. "I'm sure there's a bus stop around here somewhere. There are shops here after all." They continued walking a little further until the finally found a bus stop, just past the shops. Mink peered at the tiny writing on the timetable. "Damn, looks like we just missed it. We have to wait another 15 minutes for the next one."

"I don't mind waiting," Sei replied cheerfully. He had already sat himself on the bench under the shade of the bus shelter, his legs swinging in the air. Mink didn't really feel like sitting. They'd spent the entire afternoon sitting down lazily and now he felt like if he sat down again he might forget how to use his legs. He unshouldered his bags and laid them on the seat, opting to stand in the shade beside Sei rather than sit.

"Do you want a drink?" Mink offered, gesturing to the cooler bag. They hadn't walked very far, but it was pretty hot so it was possible that the slim, fragile Sei could have already worked up a thirst. Mink was fine for now. He'd only have a drink if Sei was having one, but otherwise he could just wait until he got home.

"No, thanks," Sei responded, shaking his head slightly. "I'm fine. But before I forget completely…" He leant over and opened up the picnic basket, rummaging around inside. He pulled out the container of cookies and handed it out for Mink to take. "You can have it. If I take it home, I probably won't finish them, but I know you'll appreciate it."

"Thanks." Mink gratefully accepted the container. This time he would go straight to his room and hide it somewhere, just to be sure his father wouldn't be able to get his grubby little hands on his cookies again. He tucked it away safely in his backpack.

He and Sei then passed the remaining time by talking about whatever popped into their heads, getting to know each other a little better. Sei asked what kind of music Mink liked, and he replied that he didn't listen to much music but he liked Blues. Apparently Sei liked Pop Punk, but Mink wasn't entirely convinced that was a real genre. It sounded like something Sei had made up just to mess with him. Mink asked Sei what his favourite soft drink was, and apparently it was fizzy passionfruit, so Mink bringing it today had been a happy coincidence. Sei asked Mink how he'd gotten so into gardening, and in return Mink asked Sei how he'd gotten so into baking.

Their conversation didn't stop when the bus pulled up. They paused to pay for their fares, and then resumed again as soon as they were seated. This time, Mink had decided to sit next to Sei on the same seat, with their bags sitting in front of them. He made sure to give Sei enough personal space and not to crush him on the corners, but it was nice being able to sit next to him. He could feel Sei's thigh pressing against his.

Mink asked Sei about his old town and his old school. Sei explained that the school had been very average, and he'd always been too shy so he hadn't had many friends back then either. He'd been the one to convince his parents to move because he wanted to go to a better school which could help him pursue his interest in cooking and baking, and he'd had no problems making the move since he didn't really have anyone he was attached to.

"I'm really glad," Sei continued. "This school is so much better. The home economics program is so much better and the facilities are really amazing. And if I hadn't moved here, I never would have met you. Even my parents were really happy that I was going out to hang out with someone this weekend." He was practically beaming from ear to ear.

Suddenly, Mink looked at his surroundings and recognised where he was. He pressed his thumb on the stop button. "We're nearly there," he informed Sei, feeling a little disappointed. He'd really been enjoying talking to Sei. He'd definitely noticed over the course of the week, and today in particular, they had both been able to open up and act more naturally with each othering, talking comfortably and just being themselves.

The bus pulled over, and Sei stood up first, looking just as disappointed as Mink felt. They both picked up their bags and got off the bus, Sei thanking the driver just as he'd done before. He was the only person Mink had ever seen who would actually thank the driver. It was refreshing. Sei really was the kindest, purest person he'd ever met.

"I have to catch my bus home from here," Sei told him. "But I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Mink confirmed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

They parted ways at the bus stop, with Sei waiting for his bus and Mink walking home, but because of Sei, Mink actually looked forward to going back to school the following day.


End file.
